A State of Mind
by Lyon.The.Demon
Summary: What happens when a young woman with a potentially dangerous state of mind enters the BAU under the protection of Jason Gideon? And who, if anyone, will recognize the threat said woman brings with her?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N :** Okay, for all fans of The Price Of Living, I've hit a MAJOR writers block in my series. I know what I've written, I know what the end is going to be. I'm just having trouble getting from point A to point C. You know? So any feedback and/or comments and/or suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks so much. This story goes out to a friend who thought I should try doing a Spencer slash fic. I don't know if it's going to go all that well, but here goes nothing. This one's for you, doll face.

**Disclaimer : I don't own Criminal Minds, but I do own Amy Vaughn. =D Yay me. Lol.**

**As usual, it was early in the morning when Dr. Spencer Reid walked into the bullpen of the BAU office in Quantico, Virginia; much too early for the others to have already come in from what could be a good nights' sleep. Yawning to himself and setting down his small bag on his desk, Reid scanned through the files and papers on his desk, checking for what needed to be done and making a mental note of those that couldn't wait. With that in mind, Reid methodically moved over to the coffee machine, needing something for his nerves after last night.**

**The dreams were back.**

**Or rather; nightmares. Of course, they were nothing new; just the same torture sessions Tobias had inflicted upon him. But new or old, the nightmares were starting to keep him up late and wake him up early again. Sighing, Reid closed his eyes for a few seconds before opening them and raising the now full cup of coffee to his lips and taking a swig, feeling the molten liquid scorch his tongue and throat on its way down. Turning around and starting to move back to his desk, Reid realized that there were voices coming from Gideon's office.**

'**Strange,' he thought. 'Last time I checked the clock it was around six. Why would Gideon be here this early…?'**

**Despite Reid's better thoughts to just move back to his desk and get started, leaving Gideon alone to do whatever it is he was doing, Reid found that his curiosity got the better of him, and his legs were already moving past the desk. Halfway to the office, however, Reid realized that there were two voices instead of just one. Of course, one of the voices was Gideon's; how could he ever forget the voice of the man who had been so much like the father he'd never had? But the other voice was a different story; Reid didn't recognize the female voice at all.**

**Nearing the office with his cup of coffee still in hand, Reid simply leaned close to the door, able to hear the conversation floating out of the room since the door was opened a crack.**

"**So… what am I supposed to do? Where am I supposed to go? They don't want me anymore, and… and… I just can't go back. Don't you understand?" the female voice said in a rush.**

"**Yes, I understand. A member of my team, Hotchner, he's a lawyer. He could help you…" Reid heard Gideon offer, but then the woman spoke again, cutting him off,**

"**But this Hotchner isn't you! I need YOU to help me, grandpa!"**

**And upon hearing that, Reid's coffee that he'd just taken a sip of was sprayed out in front of him gracelessly before he could stop his reaction. The conversation in Gideon's office came to an abrupt halt, and before Reid could scurry away, the door was yanked open and Gideon was standing in front of Reid's seemingly shrinking form.**

"**Reid? What are you doing here this early?" Gideon asked, but Reid had already spoken at the same time, saying,**

"**Did she just call you 'grandpa'?"**

**Gideon was silent for a moment, but after a few seconds he finally said softly,**

"**Yes she did, but I'm not technically family. She was supposed to be one of the victims of my earlier cases, but I got to her in time to save her. Her other family, however…" he trailed off slightly, and Reid could imagine what Gideon had been about to say.**

**Sighing heavily, Gideon turned around to face the woman who was sitting on his desk, staring at the both of them, and this gave Reid the perfect view of her form. The first thing that caught Spencer's attention was the fact that the young woman was wearing worn out, brown army boots that seemed too big for her feet. She was wearing tight, black-denim jeans that were tucked into said boots, but an over sized dark blue tee-shirt with a silver dragon covering the front of it. Her hair, which cascaded down to the small of her back in a burning red, -so red it could have only been dyed,- seemed slightly wet in some places, and stuck to her face which was slightly sweaty, and much paler than the rest of her body, which was amazingly pale as well.**

**Turquoise eyes stared at Reid hostilely, as if he were an enemy, but the longer Reid looked at her eyes, it seemed as if she were wearing blue contacts over green eyes. But why would she do that…?**

"**Reid," Gideon finally said, turning so that he could face both Reid and the woman. "This is Amy Vaughn. Amy, this is Dr. Spencer Reid; one of my agents."**

"**U-um…" Reid stammered before switching his cup of coffee to his left hand and extending his right hand to Amy, who was still sitting on Gideon's desk. "Hi…"**

**But those strange eyes continued to glare at him before she raised a hand she'd held clenched against the desk. But instead of taking the hand that Reid had offered her, she simply held it out for him to look at, and Reid almost literally jumped back in surprise. There were only splotches of it, but Reid knew blood when he saw it. The blood was dried, caked almost, in her knuckles, under her fingernails, and in the creases in the palm of her hand. Reid's eyes flew back to Amy's eyes, but they continued to glare at him, if anything even more hostilely than before, like she'd been expecting that reaction.**

**Then she turned back to Gideon, saying softly, though there was an edge to her voice Spencer hadn't heard in it before,**

"**I'm not going back, grandpa."**

"**I don't expect you to. I know it didn't happen without a reason, Amy." he paused, then added as if on an after thought, "You can stay here with the team. Maybe even do a few cases with us; I'm sure you'd make a good agent."**

**Amy's eyes darted around the office for a few seconds before coming to rest back on Reid, and the young genius backed up a step, green eyes locking with abnormal turquoise ones. Then finally, Amy moved herself off Gideon's desk with amazing ease and grace, Reid wondered if she'd done it several times before. Shoving her hands into the folds of her over large shirt, she mumbled to Gideon as she passed him,**

"**I'm going to go wash up…" and then she was gone, brushing by Reid quickly without ever coming close to him.**

**Taking another sip of his coffee, using the few moments of silence it gave him to think about what he'd just seen and heard, Reid watched Gideon from the corner of his eye as the older man moved over to where Amy had sat on his desk, and shake his head. Then, leaning against that same desk, Gideon turned his attention toward the window, the blinds having already been opened, letting the very early morning light sneak in through the glass.**

**Reid hesitated a moment longer before asking softly,**

"**What did she do…?"**

**Gideon's answer was immediate.**

"**She didn't do anything, Spencer."**

**Ignoring the use of his first name, Reid continued,**

"**She must have done something…! H-her hands were covered with blood, you were t-talking about Hotch being a lawyer and-"**

"**Amy had to kill a man, yes, but it was out of self-defense." Gideon interrupted, which silenced Reid effectively. "And now, the town that she'd been living in until now thinks that she's snapped. That her mental state has become worse and they were going to shoot her without so much as a trial. So she came to me."**

**Gideon sighed, obviously at a loss for words then, and Reid felt bad about his outburst.**

"**I-I'm sorry… I… I didn't know."**

**Gideon shook his head again, but this time his attention was drawn through the open door, where Amy had just exited the bathroom and was wandering around the bullpen, headphones in her ears and blasting some kind of rock song that she was walking to the rhythm of. Reid couldn't quite place it, but there was something about this woman that just didn't seem normal. 'But then again,' Reid thought to himself. 'Nothing in this life is ever "Normal," is it?'**

*** * ***

**Phillip Johnson stood over the dead body of his brother as the medics tried to figure out how they were going to lift his body out of the ravine, where Amy Vaughn had dumped it. 'Probably in the hopes no one would find it before she got away clean,' Phillip scoffed to himself. Turning around in a rage, his anger showing in his clenched and shaking hands, Phillip stomped off to his old truck, slamming the door behind him as he slid gracelessly into the torn seat.**

**Turning the key in the ignition, the motor roared to life, the headlights casting a bright light on the expanse of woods in front of him. Placing the truck in reverse, Phillip backed away from the rarely used country road, certain he knew exactly where Amy would go after this. After all, there was only one place that she'd claimed she'd wanted to be these past few months.**

**Quantico, Virginia.**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Later that day, Derek Morgan and Penelope Garcia were in the tech room, talking in hushed tones.**_

"_**So who's the new girl?" asked Morgan, leaning over Garcia's chair intimately as she typed away on the keyboard in front of her, pulling up random snippets of information on herself.**_

"_**I dunno. It's kind of creepy, though." she responded.**_

"_**Don't you mean, SHE'S creepy?" Derek prompted, and chuckled when his question received a,**_

"_**Both, actually," then Garcia continued, "I don't even know her name. If I did, believe me baby, I'd have every nuance of her life on this screen right here."**_

"_**Of who's life?" Emily Prentiss asked, having just walked into the room, and both Morgan and Garcia jumped at the intrusion.**_

_**But while Garcia's hand flew to her chest, her breathing almost erratic, Morgan turned around as if nothing had been wrong, giving Prentiss a smile and waving his hands in front of his chest.**_

"_**No one's."**_

"_**Come on… if it's about the new girl, I can keep a secret." Prentiss said softly, walking into the room even as Morgan tried to stop her, but Garcia turned around in her chair, asking just as quietly,**_

"_**Do you know her name?"**_

_**Prentiss shook her head, saying,**_

"_**Not her full name, no, but I heard Gideon talking to Hotch about an 'Amy.' I think that might be her."**_

_**Morgan looked behind Prentiss, almost as if to catch a glimpse of the person they were talking about, but Prentiss caught his action and said,**_

"_**She's in with Hotch and Gideon."**_

"_**Hmm…" Garcia hummed softly, her fingers flying on the keyboard, before she said to the others in the room, "Hey, look here. I found an Amy while searching up the name with the BAU and with Gideon's name as well. Okay… Amy Vaughn… Age 23. Grew up in Scottsville VA. with two brothers, a mom and a dad, but thirteen years ago, a killer went on the loose and ended up killed almost half the residents there, including the Vaughn family. Only remaining survivor was Amy, saved thanks to the fruitful efforts of a certain Special Agent Jason Gideon. But… Amy Vaughn was later diagnosed with severe Intermittent Explosive Disorder."**_

"_**What's that?" Morgan asked, but Garcia was already scanning down the page, reading as she went.**_

"_**The essential feature of Intermittent Explosive Disorder is the occurrence of discrete episodes of failure to resist aggressive impulses that result in serious assaultive acts or destruction of property. The degree of aggressiveness expressed during an episode is grossly out of proportion to any provocation or precipitating psychosocial stressor. The aggressive episodes are not due to the direct physiological effects of substance, such as abuse of a drug or medication, or a general medical condition like head trauma."**_

"_**So… basically what you're saying is that she gets mad at the drop of a hat?" Prentiss enquired, and Garcia turned around so that she could look her in the eye, replying softly,**_

"_**Yep. Let's just hope she doesn't hold a grudge, too. That'd be one sick puppy."**_

_*** * * **_

"_**I already told you!" Amy Vaughn came close to yelling, her arms folded tightly across her chest as she stood backed against the wall, staring viciously at Aaron Hotchner. "He tried to rape me; I kicked him in the nuts. He slapped me, and I just … lost it!"**_

_**Amy made a slight motion as if to unravel her arms to emphasize her words, but simply tightened her arms instead and shook her head, closing her eyes tightly, but her tone became lower as she spoke again.**_

"_**Then… the next thing I knew, he was laying on the side of the road and there was blood all over… all on my hands, on the ground, in my hair…" Amy shivered slightly before continuing. "So I rolled the body into a ravine and took off. Gideon saved me last time, I thought maybe he could help me again…"**_

_**Hotch glanced over at where Gideon sat behind his desk, his elbows propped up on the wood and his hands clasped in front of his face as he watched Amy. Turning back to the young woman, cowering against the wall even though her head was held high and her chin was thrust out with stubborn force, Hotch had just opened his mouth to ask something else when the phone on Gideon's desk rang, startling them all. Gideon picked up the phone quickly and answered it, and was silent before saying a soft,**_

"_**Will do," and hanging up, turning to gaze at Hotch.**_

"_**Someone's out front of the Bureau, ranting and raving about justice being done." Gideon paused, his mouth working tightly as if he didn't want to say what he knew had to come next. "He also keeps yelling out Amy's name. They want us to try and do something about it."**_

_**Hotch nodded, but his eyes stayed glued to Amy's shaking form as he slowly asked,**_

"_**Do you know who's out there…?"**_

_**Amy nodded, but she closed her eyes, as if to shut out a memory, so Hotch prompted,**_

"_**Can you tell me who it is I'm going to be dealing with…?"**_

_**Amy was silent for a few seconds longer, but then finally responded with a quite, barely audible,**_

"_**Phillip Johnson… he's the brother of Danny Johnson… the one who tried to rape me…" Amy swallowed before forcing herself to say, "The one I killed…"**_

_**Hotch glanced at Gideon, praying he'd understand, but Hotch knew he needed to press Amy's limits; get under her skin to know exactly what he was dealing with. It was almost like he was a full time lawyer again as he said slowly and precisely, making sure Amy understood every single one of his words,**_

"_**Don't you mean the person you murdered in cold blood…?"**_

_**And just like that, Amy's fist came down on the book case next to her, splintering the wood and cracking the top shelf in half as she yelled loudly,**_

"_**I DIDN'T MEAN TO DO IT!!"**_

_**But just as Gideon had jumped up, just as Hotch had started to step forward, the episode of hers was over and her arms were folded tightly against her chest, tears streaming down Amy's cheeks as she shut her eyes tightly and started rocking herself, her body shivering convulsively. Gideon moved over to Amy's side, hesitatingly placing a comforting arm around her shoulders even as she started to slide down the wall. Hotch turned around and exited through the door as quietly as he could, considering the rest of the unit was outside the door, trying to get a look at what had happened inside.**_

"_**Hotch, are you alright?" Garcia worriedly asked, but her voice was drowned out by Morgan's question of,**_

"_**What happened in there?"**_

"_**What broke?" Prentiss asked as well, but Hotch simply brushed past them all, leaving them to their own thoughts outside the now closed door to Gideon's office.**_

"_**Do you think Gideon's alright?" Reid asked, his gaze moving from the door to each of his teammates standing with him, and worried glances were exchanged within the group before a forced,**_

"_**Yeah, he's fine…" was extracted more for luck than assurance.**_

_**And just at that moment, J.J. walked into the bullpen, looking at the congregation of BAU members outside Gideon's office and paused for a second before holding up a brown file folder she'd been carrying.**_

"_**We've got a case. I'll brief you all in the round-table room. Where's… Gideon and Hotch?"**_

_**More glances were exchanged. How to answer that question…?**_

_*** * ***_

"_**I'm sorry sir, but you have to leave now. If you have a complaint, just-"**_

"_**No!" Phillip yelled at the man in black, ready as hell to swipe that smug look off the man's face.**_

_**How DARE that man come out here and tell Phillip that he had no right to demand Amy's life in return for his brother's! How DARE he refuse to let Phillip get his hands around the dirty skanks throat and choke the life out of her worthless body!**_

"_**I will NOT file a complaint and I will not, hear me, NOT leave! You let me at her and no one else gets hurt!"**_

_**But somewhere through Phillip's rage, he noticed that the man in black suddenly became very cold, and his eyes grew harder if that was even possible, even while his voice stayed the same.**_

"_**Sir. You will not make threats against this Bureau. If you have a complaint, take it elsewhere. Amy Vaughn's life is in my hands, and I will protect it, as will Jason Gideon. Now, kindly step away."**_

_**Phillip had half a mind to simply take a swing at the larger man, but that half a mind finally submitted to the fact that the man in black had a gun on his hip, and was staring at him like he was some kind of rat. Turning away and shoving his hands into his pockets, Phillip swore up and down that this man would soon pay for turning him away. As would Amy, for killing his brother. Everyone would pay. Phillip would make sure of that.**_


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N _**Please remember to review for me, and thanks to **_**myers1978**_** for the review. And as for calling her 'Poor Amy,' you'll just have to keep reading to see how well that fits, now won't you. =) Now, on with the story.**

**The Great Philosopher Lao Tzu once wrote, "He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still."**

**She was sitting... on the table again, Reid noticed. But she wasn't staring at the open case file that J.J. had laid on the table behind her; nor was she even looking at J.J. as she explained little details about the case. She was sitting on the edge of the table, next to Gideon, looking out the window. The sunlight was streaming through the window, hitting her dyed red hair and making it shine, almost sparkle brightly. It really looked like fire from the right angle if Reid tilted his head just so much...**

**"Reid!"**

**Reid jumped in his seat, turning around to look at J.J., who was watching him strangely, and Morgan, who was sitting right next to her, was snickering softly. Looking between the case and J.J., Reid stuttered out,**

**"U-um, s-sorry."**

**J.J. continued to stare at Reid a little longer before finally turning around and facing the wall, saying from memory,**

**"The three bodies of the collage professors were found, each a day apart on the campus. Each were poisoned."**

"**So we're looking for a chem student?" Reid asked, but Prentiss said right after,**

"**But how do you know that? What if some random student just got hold of some poison and decided to take it for a test run? Like a prank or something."**

"**If it was a prank poisoning, there wouldn't already be three dead. There would just be one." Gideon replied.**

"**This UnSub shows no remorse…" Morgan said, riffling through the pictures that had been scattered around on the table. "He just lets his victims die wherever they fall. It's almost as if he's being impersonal about this."**

"**Like a display of power. Maybe to his classmates? Like… look at what I can do, type thing." Hotch said slowly, looking around the table as ideas were discussed.**

"**Revenge."**

**Every head in the round-table room turned to look at Amy, who was now swinging her legs lightly off the side of the table, staring out the window.**

"**Excuse me…?" Morgan said quietly after a few seconds, watching her strangely.**

**Amy turned around looking Morgan in the eye, then saying again,**

"**Revenge. They wronged the UnSub, now the UnSub's getting back. Striking back. One lethal blow… and down they go."**

"**Okay, that's twisted." Morgan replied, glancing around the room quickly.**

**Hotch was the first person to recover from the short silence that followed Amy's statement. As Amy turned back around, still swinging her legs off the edge of the table, Hotch stood up. Resting his palms on the wooden table in front of him, Hotch said quietly,**

"**Wheels up in an hour." and then turned and walked out of the room, leaving the door open behind him.**

**J.J. followed suit, picking up the photos and placing them back in the folder before leaving the room herself, and was followed quickly by Prentiss and Morgan. Gideon took his time leaving, but when he did, Reid was left standing in the corner of the room, watching Amy as she continued to swing her legs off the side of the table, staring out the window. Chewing his bottom lip for a few seconds, Reid had just opened his mouth to say something when he heard Amy's voice say softly,**

"**Why are you still here?"**

**Hesitating a moment longer, Reid stammered,**

"**I-I was just… um… w-wondering how you knew that…" then Reid's brows furrowed, and curiosity got the better of him yet again as he moved around the table so that he could look at her face instead of the back of her shining red hair. "That the motive was revenge…"**

**Her strange, turquoise eyes glanced at him before returning to the window as she said,**

"**Do you know how stressful it is on an everyday average student in collage?"**

"**The percentage of the stress factor is 40% higher than a single mother or father in a home." Reid rambled off, biting his lip again. "Why?"**

"**And for under average students."**

"**A-about twenty times higher. Where are you going with this?"**

"**The professors were taken care of swiftly. No room for hesitation, no room for 'lets just go back.' The UnSub isn't your typical killer, but he wanted something done, and took the opportunity before he could talk himself into saying no."**

**Reid's brows furrowed again. Strangely enough, her answer made perfect sense. He remembered noticing just how tough it had been on the other students, the pressure; the demand. Some of the students just couldn't handle it, and started falling behind. Most of which had been…**

"**Jocks…" Reid said aloud, which earned him another glance from those abnormal eyes.**

"**Probably." was her only answer though.**

"**S-so… you've been to collage? I-I mean, how else would you know the stressors and everything, r-right…?" Reid stammered, trying to smile and make a joke, but he could tell, like always, it wasn't going anywhere.**

"**One month."**

**Biting his lip, Reid blinked and asked,**

"**One… month of what?"**

"**Collage."**

"**What? Why only one month?" Reid asked, starting to feel a little annoyed that he had to keep asking questions just to keep her talking.**

**Reid moved around so that he could face her, despite the fact that she was slightly taller than him as she continued to sit on the table. This time, however, it was her brows that furrowed as she said softly,**

"**Because everyone…" then she shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest, as if to protect herself from something. "No, that's not right. I couldn't handle it. It was my fault. I dropped out."**

**Turning around slightly so he could look out the window as well, Reid said slowly,**

"**That… kind of sounds rehearsed, Amy."**

"**I-it's not rehearsed…! It's the truth!" she said, almost incredulously, but that only confirmed Spencer's belief.**

"**What is it that you're hiding from…? Them… or yourself?"**

**Reid started to turn back to Amy, but she'd already jumped off the table and reached for Reid's gun, grabbing it and moving backward. Startled, Reid's hands moved slowly into the air out of habit as he stared down the barrel of his own gun, Amy's finger fitting itself snuggly against the trigger.**

"**I'm not hiding from anyone!" Amy spat out, her voice rising.**

**Swallowing, Reid wondered just how close he was to dying even as he said slowly,**

"**Amy… Amy please… look down at your hands… I know you don't want to do this…"**

**Almost as if she couldn't help it, Amy tore her eyes away from Reid for a second to glance down at her hands, and when she did, they started shaking, almost as if she were trying to do two actions at once and was caught in the in between. But just as Reid saw the gun lower a fraction, he heard Morgan yell from behind him,**

"**Whoa, no! Put it down, now!" and then the distinct click of a gun being readied for fire.**

**Turning his head slightly, Reid started to tell Morgan to calm down, but not only was Gideon already restraining him from moving into the room, Reid caught a glint of silver which was Amy refocusing on a new target; Morgan. Taking a deep and shaky breath, Reid said again,**

"**Please… put it down… you can fight it…" then watched as Amy glanced his way, the gun following her line of sight, moving back and forth between Morgan and Reid a few times before sticking somewhere in between the two.**

"**You can be better than that… If you fight it, you won't have to hide anymore…" Reid said shakily, swallowing again, and his heart began thumping faster when Amy started shaking again.**

**She closed her eyes tightly, a few tears making their way down her cheeks, and Reid was about to try and say something else when the gun clamored to the floor, and Morgan and Gideon rushed in. Morgan of course, secured the gun from Amy's feet and grabbed Reid, shoving his small frame behind his own, while Gideon rushed over to Amy, catching her as her legs gave way and she crumpled into herself.**

*** * ***

"**Why is **_**she**_** here?"**_** Morgan said in an accusing tone, pointing his thumb at Amy, who was drawing circles with her finger on the table in front of her.**_

_**The plane had already lifted off, and they had been in the air all of five minutes before Morgan had stomped up to the table where Gideon and Reid were playing chess. Reid watched as Gideon paused in moving his knight a few squares backward, then glanced backward at Amy before looking at Morgan. Reid could see the indecision in his eyes, as well as the doubt and the worry that he guessed came with the worry of being like a father figure to so many people…**_

"_**Do you really want her left alone with Garcia…?" was Gideon's only answer, and though it seemed to quell Morgan's hostility for then, Reid could still tell that even Gideon had his doubts about bringing Amy along.**_

_**But strangely enough, Reid was glad she was coming. In those last few moments when Amy'd had that gun raised, pointed so close to his skull, even then his abnormally large brain couldn't help but recognize the seemingly lost expression that she'd worn; and to the degree she'd been hanging on his every word, as if using those words as a beacon to pull herself back to shore with. Glancing up at Amy, who was now staring out the window again, Reid wondered what exactly it was about this woman that seemed so distant, yet so close to home…**_

"_**Check Mate."**_

_**Blinking and hurriedly glancing down at the chess board, then up at Gideon's knowing smile, Reid shook his head and let his arms fly into the air.**_

"_**I give up!"**_


	4. Chapter 4

A/N : Alright, sorry about this, but I _really _need some help here. Please review when you can, even if you don't think Amy and Reid would work out. I want to know how I'm doing, and who knows. If I get enough reviews, the story line may change. I don't know. But I need those reviews, so if you can, please. (I sound like a begging brat, but I don't care.) Anyway, here's the fourth chapter, and sorry it took so long to get out, but my comp broke down. I had to retype what I'd already had down cause I lost the data for it. x.x

**"Alright, so what are we looking for?" Reid heard Prentiss ask as the group walked into the school.**

**Things were about as quiet as a collage campus got; a few students scrambling around the halls with books in their hands, rushing to their next classes, groups and cliques moving in fours and fives through the hall as if they owned everything they saw.**

**Hotch, Gideon and Prentiss walked at the front of the group; Reid and Amy were in the back with a distrustful Morgan standing in between them, more to Reid's side than Amy's. Sighing softly to himself, Reid heard Gideon's reply to Prentiss's question.**

**"Someone who probably looks smug. Who's bragging a lot. Someone with a narcissistic nature."**

**Hotch turned back to look at Reid, Morgan and Amy, saying quietly,**

**"Gideon, Prentiss and I will take the West Wing. You, Morgan and Amy take the East Wing, and we'll meet up at the cafeteria in the South Wing, alright? Everyone got that?" when everyone nodded, Hotch continued, "Alright. We'll see you after a while. Be careful."**

**And with that, the team went their separate ways. Reid couldn't help but notice the fact that Amy stayed a ways behind him and Morgan, every now and again reaching her hand out and running her fingers over the wall absent-mindedly. Reid kept trying to look back at her, debating on telling her to hurry up and going back to walk with her, but every time he slowed down, Morgan caught his arm and moved him back to the front. And then the bell rang and doors opened. Students rushed out into the halls, crowding and pushing everyone out of their way, including the two FBI agents and Amy.**

**Reid felt several unknown kids bump and push him out of the way as they scrambled through the thick crowd, but was distracted by the bits and pieces of conversation flowing around him. A few girls talking together about a crush, a couple of kids talking about a science project, several voices talking about assignments and homework and ditching school tomorrow, but nothing of real interest. Then someone else bumped into Reid and he was forcibly turned around to face a slightly larger man in a red and black sweatshirt. His face was contorted with pride filled anger, and he practically spat at Reid,**

**"Watch where you're going, loser!"**

**Then Reid was pushed back, into the throng of moving teenagers, and was almost pushed over by the force of the moving students. Oddly enough, Reid thought he heard a spoken protest from one of the jocks that had been behind the one who had grabbed Reid, but that didn't matter. He had to find Morgan and tell him what had happened; who a potential UnSub was. And he got his chance a few seconds later, as the second bell rang. Just like that, the crowd in the halls practically disappeared, and the sound of doors being shut and forcibly slammed caught Reid's ears even as he watched Morgan sprint up to him.**

**"Anything?" Morgan asked, and Reid nodded.**

**"A jock. Fits the profile. His hands were calloused, probably plays a lot of football, my guess is a receiver of some sort. Had a five man posse, popular, confident in his looks, egotistical, definitely narcissistic. He wasn't bragging of what I could tell, but the way his mouth was turned up, it looked like he had a secret that he was proud of."**

**"You think you could identify him if you saw him again?"**

**"Definitely." Reid nodded again, then looked behind Morgan into an empty hallway.**

**Shifting his feet, Reid looked back at Morgan and asked softly,**

**"Where did… Amy go…?"**

**Morgan turned around, his gaze sweeping the empty hallway and placed a fist on his hip, and ran his other hand through his hair, muttering,**

**"Oh, shit. Gideon's gonna kill me, isn't he?"**

**But his statement was wasted on Reid, as he had already turned around the way they had came, checking the windows on the doors to the classrooms as he went by, his steps hurried. Brushing a piece of brown hair out of his face, Reid looked down a side hall and breathed a sigh of relief as he saw Amy standing in front of a door, her arms crossed tightly over her chest as she looked in, her eyes watching something closely. Turning back to Morgan, Reid motioned with his hand, giving just a small smile to let him know he'd found her, then moved into the hall himself.**

**His legs brought him to Amy's side fairly quickly, but instead of disturbing her, he looked over her shoulder to see what she saw. And there in the second row, was the jock that had grabbed Reid. He looked back at Amy, wondering if she had made a connection of some sort to that boy as well, but didn't get a chance to ask the question on his mind, as Morgan arrived at their side and roughly took hold of Amy's shoulder, startling her.**

**"What the hell do you think you were doing, running off like that?" Morgan hissed out of his clenched teeth, obviously trying and failing to resist the urge to shake her.**

**Amy turned a hostile glare on Morgan and swatted at his hand on her shoulder before moving to strike his face. The cracking sound of a slap seemed so much louder in an empty school hallway, Reid thought, backing up slightly. But the slap had it's desired effect, for Morgan let go of Amy's shoulder and stepped back, raising his own hand to his now reddening cheek. Amy closed her eyes for a few seconds, taking a deep breath, then said slowly and clearly,**

**"I've found your UnSub. He's in that room." she then pointed to the window she'd been staring into.**

**"You can't know that." Morgan fired back at her, but she simply turned her turquoise eyes on him and said easily,**

**"Yes I can. That's him," then she shrugged. "Believe me or not. I don't care."**

**"I'll tell you what I believe, I believe you need help. You need to be in a hospital for emotionally sick people and you need to be away from us before you actually _hurt_ someone!"**

**This time, Amy cringed and looked down, shifting uncomfortably even as she muttered,**

**"I-I know…"**

**His face contorting with indecision, Reid brushed a strand of hair out of his face as he said slowly and softly,**

**"Morgan… it's not her fault. She can't control what she does anymore than you can control your need to catch the bad guy. It's… bred in; built in. It's part of who she is…"**

**"Yeah, well, there's medicine for that, Reid. Now let's go."**

**And with that, Morgan turned around and stomped off, back down the hallway they were originally supposed to be traveling along. Hesitating, Reid turned halfway to follow Morgan, but turned his head to face Amy, saying softly,**

**"Um… y-you'll have to excuse Morgan, he's a little -"**

**"He's a dick."**

**Reid was cut off by Amy's statement, and his eyes widened for a fraction of a second, stuttering out,**

**"E-excuse m-me…?"**

**Amy turned her gaze toward Reid, and he could feel heat rising into his cheeks as those turquoise eyes seemed to assess his every move and bore into his thoughts.**

**"He's a dick." she repeated, then her brows furrowed and her expression turned thoughtful as she said slowly, "You are too. But in a good way."**

**Reid blinked. Now he was more lost than ever. But instead of asking another question, as it seemed that his mouth didn't want to cooperate with his brain anymore, he simply watched as Amy moved gracefully past him, head held high.**

**He was a dick… but in a good way? Did that even make sense? **

*** * * **

**"So did you three find anything?" Hotch asked Morgan, and Morgan shook his head slightly.**

**"Only a possible lead, but that was about it."**

**Hotch sighed, raising his fist as if to pound it into the long lunch table in front of him, but instead just simply moving it through the air before returning it to his hip. Gideon then tossed a small booklet across the table from where he was sitting to where Reid was standing, leaning against the side. Reid caught it and picked it up, riffling through it as Gideon said,**

**"That's the school's photos. When you find the UnSub, let us know."**

**Reid nodded, already moving through page after page, and in turning to the science class, Reid found the picture he was looking for. Placing the open booklet on the table, Reid pointed out the picture.**

**"There. That's him."**

**Reid glanced up as the others gathered round, all except for Hotch, who was busy making a quick phone call to Garcia to have her run the name below the picture through her data base to see what she could find. Reid then glanced up at Amy, who was sitting on the table, -again- and looking over at the picture he had his finger on, her brows furrowed, her face distorted in what looked to be disagreement. His own brows furrowing, Reid was just about to ask what was wrong, when Hotch spoke up.**

**"He almost fits. Grades dropping substantially since six months ago, failing just about every course. But something doesn't fit; he was doing great in Lit, but that professor was killed. Why would you kill a professor you like, or that teaches a class you excel at?"**

**"Then it can't be this one…" Gideon muttered, but Amy shook her head, finally saying,**

**"That's because you don't have the right student."**

**Every head turned to Amy, but she didn't seem fazed. She reached forward and moved Reid's hand out of the way, and he almost gasped at the contact. Tiny little sparks seemed to ignite where she'd touched, and even as he pulled his hand completely away from hers and shoved it in his pocket, he could still feel the place where her fingers had brushed against his hand as if she had burnt him. Swallowing past a sudden lump in his throat, Reid caught Amy's slight glance his way before her finger pointed out a different picture in the same class.**

**"That's who you're looking for. That's the UnSub."**

**Reid looked closer, and noticed that she was pointing at a normal looking kid with glasses. Another one that had passed him in the hall. Nasal-ish voice, only one walking and talking buddy, kept mostly to himself. He'd been shy and quiet and his shoulders had been hunched, his feet dragging against the floor as he walked by. Reid shook his head slightly to get the image out of his mind. She thought they were looking for a geek?**


	5. Chapter 5

**"Vaughn…" Hotch said slowly, using the same voice he normally used to cajole delusional UnSubs; Reid knew. "Do you realize which picture you're pointing to?"**

**"Yes, but I know it's him. You have to believe me. Call your tech, have her run…" she waved her hands for emphasis. "Some of those scans or whatever they're called. He's going to have an almost perfect record; all except for a small blemish. Something minor, but something that could potentially hurt a career he'd set his hopes on. But it'll be cleared because of someone; some witness or friend. He'll have killed for that friend. "**

**Amy looked around the unit hopefully, her abnormal turquoise eyes seemingly glittering with disappointment as she realized most of the faces watching her were staring at her as if she were a lunatic.**

**"You know, right now you sound about as credible as a gypsy." Morgan said through his teeth, then turning back to the school photos, taking the booklet away from Amy. "We'll follow Terry Kortcher," Morgan then said, reading off the name at the bottom of the photo Reid had pointed out. "Maybe we'll catch another lead or something."**

**Reid opened his mouth to say something but he heard Amy voice one last plea before he could say anything himself.**

**"Come on, at least give me a chance! Grandpa, please! I know what I'm talking about!"**

**And everyone was startled, the same way Reid had been that first time.**

**"Grandpa?"**

**"Did she just call you grandpa?"**

**"What the hell?"**

**But Gideon waited until the shock of the moment died down before saying quietly, ignoring the others and speaking to Amy,**

**"You must realize Amy, it seems very unlikely that… well…" his brows furrowed; how could he put it gently? But Amy spoke before he could think of how to phrase that she didn't really have that much credibility in simple thought.**

**"Unlikely or not, isn't this unit supposed to be looking for leads that build to concrete facts instead of only moving on with facts and passing by possibilities?"**

**"I don't believe this! You're actually going to listen to her?" Morgan practically yelled at Gideon. "She's crazy!"**

**Fists slammed down on the table, startling everyone again.**

**"I am NOT crazy!" she yelled, glaring at Morgan.**

**Morgan slammed his own hands on the table, leaning over and saying loudly,**

**"Yeah? Then what was that right there, huh?"**

**"Stop it!" Prentiss yelled, trying to get in between the two. "Please! This isn't helping us any!"**

**Gideon sighed softly, seemingly caught in an indecision, but after a few seconds reached for the cell that had been laid on the table before and opened it, dialing Garcia's number again.**

**"Dude, what are you doing?" Morgan asked incredulously, seeing Gideon's action.**

**Gideon put the cell on speaker and laid it on the table again, glancing at Morgan to say,**

**"I'm following a possible lead. She's right about the possibilities that we should be hounding, and just sitting here arguing over things isn't helping the professors here."**

**This short speech seemed to shut Morgan up even as a cheery voice came over the line.**

**"Talk to me hot stuff."**

**"Garcia, pull up everything you have on a Harry Norman." Gideon said clearly, ignoring her usual quip.**

**There was a moment of silence where they could hear fingers flying over a keyboard, then Garcia's voice started up again.**

**"Basic geek boy. Excelling in every class, nothing really wrong to speak of… wait…" Garcia paused, then said quickly, "Says here the boy was picked up for vandalism. But the charge was dropped because a Henry Thompson stepped up and claimed responsibility. Harry was turned loose and Henry served two days in jail, being a repeat offence…"**

**Every head turned to Amy, and not a single profiler in the cafeteria missed the small, smug smirk on her lips.**

**"Did that help any?" Garcia asked softly, but Amy spoke before anyone else could.**

**"Miss Tech, what classes does Henry have?"**

**"Um…" more typing sounds. "Lit, Science, Gym, History, Math. The basics. Why?"**

**But Amy just sat back and started swinging her legs off the table again, knowing every other person in this room had finally made the connection she had earlier. The Lit, Science and History professors were all dead. But Amy couldn't help getting the last word in. Still smirking smugly, she moved gracefully off the end of the table, turning around to face Morgan.**

**"Told you it was revenge."**

**But Morgan shook his head and watched her warily.**

**"So you were right about the geek's past. So what? What's revenge got to do with any of it?"**

**"Because he was wrongly accused of something he didn't do. Henry stepped up and took the blame for him. He saved him. Harry was paying him back; helping him by killing the teachers that gave him those bad grades. Revenge."**

**"So a theory seems solid. We'd better check it out." Gideon said softly, slowly standing up.**

**The others followed suit, slowly filing out of the cafeteria, but Gideon remained after everyone had left, watching Amy silently. When she caught his eye, however, he spoke softly.**

**"I'm sorry I didn't believe you right off the bat."**

**A bitter expression passed over Amy's features, but she shrugged, giving Gideon a small half smile.**

**"Don't worry about it. I'm crazy; what do I know anyway?"**

**But before Gideon could comment on that, Amy filed past him and out the double doors and was gone.**

*** * ***

**Hotch, Prentiss, Morgan, Reid and Vaughn stood outside the interrogation room they'd set up within the school. They didn't have the comfort of a one way mirror, instead being clearly visible to the student within as they stood outside the room, pacing. As soon as Harry had realized that he was being questioned about the murders of the professors, he'd asked for a lawyer. If that didn't look bad, from a profiler point of view, the fact that he was fidgeting around, couldn't sit still, wouldn't look anyone in the eye and jumped whenever the smallest sound was made inside or outside the room, made him seem guilty. Like he knew he was guilty but refused to admit it.**

**Gideon was still in the room, simply sitting down and watching the young man, which only seemed to make him fidget more.**

**"This is getting us nowhere!" Morgan said, still pacing around with his arms crossed over his chest.**

**"There's not much we can do until his lawyer shows up. The kid's smart, I'll give him that." Hotch replied, running a hand through his hair and looking through the glass.**

**Harry's hands were folded tightly, placed on the table. He was staring down at his hands, moving from side to side and tapping his foot unceasingly. His expression was clouded; anxious. Turning away from the window, Hotch watched Gideon as he finally exited the room, his own expression as clouded as Harry's.**

**"He's definitely hiding something. But that's all I can get, besides the fact that he's not used to pressure and he's not used to being around a lot of people." Gideon said softly, closing the door behind him.**

**The unit moved together to the other side of the room, where the coffee machine was. Something like coffee was definitely needed right about now.**

**"Can't you pretend to be his lawyer, Hotch?" Prentiss asked, but Hotch shook his head.**

**"He's already seen me out the window. He'll only trust a face he hasn't seen before."**

**And while the frustrated conversation around the coffee machine continued, over on the other side of the room Reid and Amy were talking in hushed tones.**

**"Please, just trust me on this…" she pleaded, her turquoise eyes watching Reid.**

**"I… I don't know…" Reid managed to get out, knowing that if he let her into the room without Hotch's permission he'd be in deep shit.**

**Especially if he blocked the door to prevent anyone from coming in and taking her out of the room before she got the confession she was sure she could get, as was her second idea. Amy blew out a soft sigh and turned her head, shoving her hands into her pockets.**

**"Why is it that no one here believes me when I say something?" she asked, more to herself than anything, and it was the simple helplessness, the frustration in her voice that finally pushed Reid into his answer.**

**"… look… I'll do it if you answer a question for me."**

**Amy's eyes flew back to his own green ones, and she nodded eagerly. Taking a small breath to reinforce his courage, Reid then asked softly,**

**"Why are you wearing color contacts that are different than your original eye color?"**

**Amy blinked a few times, obviously thrown off by Reid's question, but answered hesitantly,**

**"Because… well… I was afraid…" she shook her head, then closing her eyes and saying softly, "I put these in after I… killed… the guy. I was afraid that… someone would recognize me and stop me, so I put on a huge hat, the huge boots, the huge shirt… trying to cover up who I was… what I'd done… I needed Gideon, but if I couldn't get to him…"**

**She opened her eyes and looked at Reid, and he noticed the helpless look was back. She seemed so lost to him, that it hurt. It twisted at his heart and gut and made him want to just reach out and wrap his arms around her, but he knew he couldn't. Because he couldn't really initiate that kind of contact, and because he was sure she wouldn't take well to it. But that would explain why there had only been blood on her hands and not the shirt she'd been wearing. But where did the hat go, he then wondered. Then his thoughts were interrupted as she shook her head, then saying just as softly,**

**"So are you going to get me in, or not?"**

**And Reid had no choice to agree. A favor for a favor. Odd, how that seemed to be what this case was linked around as well.**


	6. Chapter 6

"… **Hello Harry…"**

**Amy's voice sounded out in both rooms as she took a seat in front of Harry. The profilers turned around, startled, at the sound of her voice, confusion then turning to anger.**

"**Who let her in the interrogation room?" Hotch demanded, but realized the answer as soon as he asked it.**

**Reid was leaning back against the only door to where Harry was being kept, his hands in his pockets and his face pale. He was trembling. Hotch took a menacing step forward, ready to yank Reid out of the way and bust through the doors and do the same to Amy when Morgan moved past him. Morgan came about as close as possible without actually touching Reid, looking down at him and saying lowly,**

"**Reid, move."**

**Reid swallowed and shook his head, his green eyes watching Morgan with what almost looked like fear. This, of course, caught Gideon's attention and he moved forward, laying a hand on Morgan's shoulder to calm him as he watched Reid's eyes turn to him.**

"**Reid, what's going on? Why'd you let her in?"**

"**B-because… she deserves a chance."**

"**A chance? She's crazy, Reid!" Morgan replied hotly, but Gideon stilled him with that same hand that had been on his shoulder, then saying softly,**

"**He's already asked for his lawyer though, Reid. You know this."**

**Reid's eyebrows quirked, despite his obvious fear as he said slowly,**

"**Yes but… she's not actually a member of the BAU or any agency of the like. She's just… a civilian talking to a student."**

**The profilers were silent for a few seconds before Hotch said slowly, in a slightly amazed voice,**

"**He's got a point, Gideon. There's nothing against that. It's perfectly legal."**

**Morgan looked about to say something else, but Gideon gave a small half smile, then simply turning to the window where Amy and Harry sat together.**

"**Then I guess we'll just have to see how this plays out, won't we…?"**

*** * ***

"… **Hello Harry…" Amy said, pulling out the chair across from Harry and sitting down.**

**She folded her hand the same way he had his, looking at him for a few seconds before turning her gaze on her hands, thinking he'd be more comfortable if she wasn't looking at him. It took a few seconds while she sat there in silence, waiting on him to make the next move, but finally she heard his voice ask timidly,**

"**A-are you m-my lawyer…?"**

"**No, unfortunately, I'm not. I'm sorry." Amy said apologetically, then waited yet again.**

"**So you're one of them too then." came his almost scathing response, and before she could reply to that, he said again, "I already told you, I didn't do it and I want my lawyer!"**

**Finally Amy looked back up at Harry to see that his face was very pale and he was sweating slightly, his short, blond hair sticking slightly to the tip of his forehead. She let her mouth work for a few seconds, then said softly,**

"**I'm not really with them. I mean I'm with them, but I don't work for them. Do you understand what I mean…?" she asked, looking almost as if she didn't understand herself what she had just said.**

**And as she expected, Harry's brows furrowed for a few seconds as he then looked her over. Finally, he returned with,**

"**I… I guess so… but, why are you here then?"**

**Mentally cracking her knuckles, as would have been her usual habit when she was getting ready to make her final move, Amy continued to keep eye contact, making her voice as soft as she knew how to.**

"**Because I understand." then she paused, letting that statement sink in before she continued. "I know you didn't mean for it to get this far; I know you were only doing it for Henry."**

**If possible, Harry got even paler. He didn't confirm Amy's statement, but he didn't deny it either, and Amy took that as a good sign as she continued.**

"**The professors that were killed… they were all Henry's professors. The ones that were giving him failing grades. I know you wanted to help him after he took the charge of vandalism off your record, but you have to understand, killing them wasn't the way to go about it…"**

**Amy jumped when Harry moved quickly out of his chair, the chair falling backward to the floor as he raised his hands to his head and doubled over, as if in pain. Tears were suddenly streaming down his face as he said rather loudly,**

"**I didn't mean to do it like that! I'm sorry, okay!? I just wanted to help him, that's all!"**

**Continuing to sit, Amy watched and waited until he settled down a little, then asking softly,**

"**Then why didn't you stop after the first if you didn't mean to do it like that?"**

"**I tried! I kept tweaking the formula I used, but it didn't work, they just… they died, and it was too late, so I tried tweaking it again, but the Lit Prof died and then that was it, end of the line…!"**

**Her mouth twitching downward, Amy slowly rose from the chair, and Harry looked up at her through red-rimmed eyes.**

"**W-wait, where are you going?"**

"**I… have to go out now. I'm truly sorry about everything, Harry. I know you didn't mean to. It shouldn't have happened this way. But… a word of advice…?" **

**Harry watched her with wide eyes, his body still shaking from the turmoil his emotions were in as he waited, hanging on her words.**

"**Keep your head held high and tell the truth… Things are going to be different for you now; how different is up to you." and with that, Amy turned around and walked out of the room, Reid already having abandoned his position at the door.**

**Taking her own advice, Amy left the room without a word to the other agents with her head held high. Their stares followed her even after she closed the door behind her and left the team alone in the room outside the makeshift interrogation room.**

*** * ***

**"Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of overcoming it."**

**Helen Keller**

*** * ***

**Back on the plane, Gideon and Morgan were having a heated discussion about Amy's performance in hushed tones. Gideon's point was that she had actually solved the case, despite what the rest of the team had thought. She'd understood from the very beginning and knew who to look for. She did good. But Morgan's point was that she was still crazy, and that he didn't trust her enough to give her any reign, especially around Reid.**

"**Morgan…" Gideon finally said, his mouth moving down into a frown in response to Morgan's earlier comment about Amy being crazy. "She's not really crazy. Could a crazy person really have solved this case by herself, which is exactly what she did? Could a crazy woman have comforted that boy into talking when he wouldn't talk to any of us?"**

**And finally Morgan had to relent, because even he had to admit that Gideon had a point; one that he couldn't fairly argue with. So instead he said roughly,**

"**Fine. Maybe not crazy, but definitely unstable."**

"… **We're all unstable in a way, Morgan but… yes, you're right. She's unstable. But that's why she's here; I'm going to help her through this, and I don't need you giving her grief about it."**

**Morgan simply shook his head, but muttered,**

"**Fine…"**

**On the opposite side of the jet, Reid had his head turned down at files from the case they had just finished, but was in reality watching Amy from the tops of his eyes. She was sitting as close to the window as possible even though there was no one else near her, and she had her eyes closed. She looked like she was sleeping because her breathing was so even, but her muscles were too stiff for her to be asleep. Reid wondered to himself why she was so guarded, and kept replaying several events over in his mind. The incident with the gun… her talk with Harry… her smugness with Morgan… It was almost as if she was borderline, but Reid knew that wasn't the case.**

**It was simply her knowledge of the world that made her actions conflict, Reid figured. So much had been done to her… so much she'd seen and done herself… Looking back down at the files, Reid wondered just how he was supposed to get close to her, then suddenly froze at his thought. Shaking his head, he decided to put that thought out of his mind and started to pour over the paper work again.**

**Reid was completely unaware that Amy was in fact watching him from under her lashes, simply staring at him; watching him while he had watched her, wondering why he appealed to her so…**

A/N : please review. It does help.


	7. Chapter 7

'**One of these days,' Phillip vowed. 'One of these days, Amy Vaughn will meet the same fate as my brother. Then she'll know the pain and suffering that I've had to go through…'**

**Phillips eyes were narrowed as he watched the Vaughn girl and her new-found friends walk into the large building. She kept her distance from the group, which was good. Maybe they didn't accept her either. Maybe they saw right past her little game she played. The façade she held to make everyone think she was so cute and innocent and… UGH. It made Phillip sick just thinking about it. He was glad that they were shunning her like the whore she was and… wait. What's this?**

**Phillip watched with continuously narrowing eyes and a scowl as Amy tripped over her own feet going up the building's steps. She would have fallen backward onto her own ass, which would have been a nice change, if that stupid skinny excuse for a man hadn't been behind her, dogging her like a lost puppy. He helped her right herself and they exchanged smiles…?! What the hell?!**

**Phillip slammed his hand down on the steering wheel of his old truck, careful not to blare the horn and alert them to his presence. Why the hell was he helping her? He was supposed to be shunning her, for fuck's sake! Did people really get much more stupid than them?!**

**No. They had to learn. Amy Vaughn is a killer. Amy Vaughn will kill again. They'll see; they'll all see.**

**Phillip waited until they had long since disappeared into the building before turning the key in the ignition and putting the truck in drive, pulling out from his parking spot barely even a block away, those words rushing through his mind as if several people were speaking them inside and echoing, empty room.**

**They'll see; they'll all see.**

*** * ***

**(For those that might not understand without an explanation, that was Phillip's point of view on what he saw and thought he saw. This is what really happened from Reid's point of view.)**

**Reid was still trying to figure out what made Amy's mind work the way it did, and he was trying to do it as subtly as he could.**

**Eavesdropping.**

**Amy was talking with Gideon about her case, the one where she'd killed the man who tried to rape her in self-defense, but she was talking so low… Reid was struggling to hear her words, and ended up walking closer and closer behind her, watching his feet as best as he could, trying not to make any noise and holding his breath as he strained his ears, catching little snippets of the conversation.**

"**He'd had a knife in his pocket…" Reid didn't catch the rest of her sentence before Gideon spoke.**

"**Why didn't you just stop when you realized what was happening?" **

**At least Gideon's voice was loud enough he could hear it, Reid thought, becoming more and more frustrated as he walked a bit closer behind Amy.**

"**Because… I kept thinking if he's not dead…" **

**And then nothing! It was like her voice just dropped off, but Gideon was nodding, obviously catching every word! Were his ears going on him or something?! Reid shook his head in frustration, but he'd been walking so close to Amy that when he took his gaze off his feet, he accidentally stepped on the back of Amy's shoe just as they reached the BAU building's steps. With a startled yelp, Amy started to fall backward, and the only thing Reid could do not to be crushed was to try and stop her fall.**

**Of course, Gideon helping played a lot in the matter, as he took hold of one of her recklessly flying hands as she tried to regain her balance, but Reid actually managed to survive the brunt of Amy's weight, which wasn't really that much, to be honest. Reid stepped back and helped right her body into a fully standing position, then promptly let go, shoving his hands into his pockets and mumbling a sorry. Then looking up at Amy, he quickly raised a hand to brush a bit of hair behind his ear, watching her with an apologetic expression, but was caught off guard when she hesitantly smiled at him.**

**And then his heart almost stopped.**

**She was actually smiling.**

**At him.**

**Spencer Reid, the freak.**

**Even in his shocked state, Reid found himself starting to crack a smile as well, unable to help it. But then Prentiss and Hotch were filing past him, up the stairs and into the office building, and then Morgan was by his side, watching him with that odd, disapproving look on his face that one might give a child when they've snuck a cookie before dinner. Reid glanced back at Amy, but she was watching Morgan with that same cold stare he remembered from the first time he'd met her.**

**Hostile; wary. And then she turned on her heel and was gone. Sighing to himself, Reid followed the rest of the team up the stairs and into the building to finish up what daylight hours were left before going home.**

**What fun.**

*** * * **

**Reid entered the normally quiet bullpen early; as usual. But instead he was greeted by odd sounds coming from Gideon's room. Sounds that seemed like someone… crying? His brows furrowing, Reid set down the bag he carried in on his desk, then turned and headed straight for Gideon's office. But just as he opened the door both he and his heart lurched when Morgan's fist came down on Gideon's desk and his voice boomed around Amy, Gideon and Hotch.**

"**You little liar!"**

"**I'm not lying!" she shouted back, but the effect of her anger had evidently long since given way to tears as her face was completely red and swollen.**

**Hotch was the only one who looked up at Reid's entrance, but said nothing about it as both he and Gideon tried to calm Morgan down with words. Which was obviously going very well.**

"**I hate the fact that you think you can come into this unit and brainwash everyone here into thinking you're the innocent little victim! But what I hate the most is that you have most everyone believing that shit!"**

"**The only think you hate is that I pulled Spencer's gun on him! That's all this is about, you stupid profiler!" she yelled back, but Morgan laughed loudly before retorting,**

"**Yes, that's yet another**** thing I hate about you! And don't call him Spencer, you crazy bitch!"**

"**I'm not crazy!"**

"**I've been sniffing out crazy psychopaths for several years now; it's my job to know what they think and how they act! I think I know a crazy psychopathic killer when she's standing right in front of me!"**

"**Shut up!"**

**The room fell silent, and Reid wondered who exactly had made that last comment before he realized that not only did his throat hurt from the sudden exclamation, but every head had turned toward him. The sides of his mouth instantly turning down, Reid tried to shrink back against the wall, shoving his hands into his pockets and looking away, refusing to meet anyone's eyes then.**

"**Aw no. No, no, no. Not you too, man!" Morgan said, more in a pleading manner, turning around to face Reid fully.**

**But instead of saying anything to Morgan in particular, Reid cleared his throat somewhat uncomfortably, and said in a soft, almost squeaking voice,**

"**Um… wh-what's this all about?"**

**But then the angry Morgan was back, as he reached over to Gideon's desk and shoved something in a large plastic back into Reid's face.**

"**What's this all about? What's this all about?! That little bitch went out and killed herself another guy, that's ****what this is all about!"**

"**I didn't do it!" Amy cried out again, but Morgan's voice yelled over her.**

"**HER hat, HER DNA, it has HER written all over it! And she expects us to hide her, to PROTECT her! And all of you are falling for it!!"**

**Running his tongue nervously over his suddenly dry lips, Reid turned his eyes to Gideon and Hotch, who looked solemn, yet set as they stood by Amy, not only protecting her, but wary of an anger attack that might happen at any moment, given the way Morgan had been laying into her. But so far, nothing was coming out of Amy but denial and tears as Reid finally moved his eyes to her face.**

**And there, staring back at him, was the bluest eyes he'd ever seen.**

**Blue. Her eyes were blue. And they were silently begging Reid to believe her; that she didn't do it.**

**Turning back to Morgan, Reid said quietly,**

"**Maybe she really didn't do it, Morgan… maybe someone's trying to frame her; make it look like she-" **

"**Aw no." Morgan interrupted. "No. Don't give me that bullshit, Reid. I've seen plenty ****of these psychopaths that kill and then deny it like her. I've seen several ****crazy sons of bitches who mess around with the emotions of others, and even those who do the killings but don't remember them! I know she did it Reid. Why can't any of you see it?"**

**Morgan shook his head, then slapping the bagged hat down on Gideon's desk before moving forward and brushing past Reid without another word, moving back into the bullpen. Reid's eyes darted between Hotch and Gideon and he watched as they slowly relaxed their guarded stances, Hotch moving to brush past Reid as Morgan had before, and Gideon patting Amy on the shoulder before slowly returning to his seat behind the desk.**

**No one said a word.**

**Amy, left standing alone, wrapped her arms tightly around her torso and started rocking herself on the balls of her feet, staring wide-eyed at the ground, tears still streaming down her face. It was like a knife was turning in his heart every time she hiccupped or gasped for air, trying to be as silent as she could then. Her fiery red hair was sticking to her face and neck where it had found the tear streaks, making those strands seem almost black against her abnormally pale skin.**

**And before Reid knew it, or could help it, Amy was in his arms and he was rubbing his hand against her back, trying to comfort her. Somewhat startled himself, he tensed as he felt her muscles tense up, and squeezed his eyes shut, ready for a smack to the face, a kick to the shins; something. But instead, moments later all the tension in her body simply became lax and her head was against his shoulder, the cloth there rapidly becoming wet.**

**But as his hand resumed the gentle, -and what he hoped was comforting- strokes along her back, Reid knew that his shirt being tear-soaked was the least of his problems.**

**Because despite what he wanted to believe, Morgan had a very valid point.**

A/N : Thanks to myers1978 for reviewing, and I definately think they'd be a good pairing, but you'll just have to keep reading to see how this all ends up, now won't you? ;D And as for my other readers, (I don't know your names, but I know you're out there.) please, please, I really stress that you review my story so that I know how I'm doing with the population. Am I going a bit over board with Morgan's anger, or would her having held a gun to Reid's head truely have resulted in just about a life long grudge with him? Do I have Reid's character right, do I have Gideon's character right? I would really like different opinions on this, and please, don't be afraid to point out my writing flaws. I'm always up for a bit of critisizm, and would really appreciate it. Thanks a million guys, and I'll keep updating as soon as I can.


	8. Chapter 8

**"All is a riddle, and the key to a riddle... is another riddle."**

**Ralph Waldo Emerson**

** Reid watched Amy from the side of his eyes, pretending to be doing paperwork again. Everyone already knew he read fast, and in fact he'd already read through this report and knew it by heart. So instead, he was flipping through the pages, glancing up at Amy as she sat by him at his desk. After they'd left Gideon's office, she was still withdrawn and sullen, but she didn't seem to want to leave his side. She was very truly and honestly shaken up; and if he could see that, then it had to be pretty damn obvious. Scowling slightly, Reid moved his eyes over the paper in front of him just in case anyone was looking. It wasn't fair. It wasn't Amy; Reid just knew it wasn't.**

** Looking up again, Reid noticed that there was almost no one in the bullpen anymore; but that there was a small comotion going on in the round-table room. A briefing? No, Reid dismissed that idea as soon as it came to him. He knew what they were doing in there, and he knew why no one had bothered to tell him or Amy. It's because they were _discussing_ Amy. Shaking his head and sighing to himself, he looked back down at his paperwork in front of him. This entire morning he'd been struggling with what Morgan had said to him. But what scared Reid the most was that Morgan had a very valid point. They were trained to hunt these psychopathic killers down, and if Morgan's instincts were going off...**

** She could have just as easily slipped into a different personality and gone into her rage, thus not remembering anything, which would explain her amount of emotion now... Then Reid's brows furrowed. Something was nagging at his memory. What was it about Intermittent Explosive Disorder that he remembered from a book that had briefly touched on the subject...? The aggressive episodes are not due to the direct physiological effects of substance, such as abuse of a drug or medication, or a general medical condition. There. It was just like reading the same book over again.**

**Amy couldn't have switched into another personality within her mind, for IED was a disorder all it's own, that didn't surface were there other medical problems or mental disabilities. Standing up quickly, Reid's eyes were glued to the window of the round-table room even as he felt something jump by his side. Looking over he found Amy staring at him with wide eyes, and the best he could do was try to give her a reassuring smile as he said softly,**

** "I know a way to get you out of this."**

**It took Amy a few seconds to either comprehend or understand what Reid said, but then she was standing as well, and nodded, her arms wrapping themselves reflexively around her torso. Again, Reid's heart felt like there was a dagger twisting around in there, but he knew what the others didn't. He knew how to prove Amy was innocent; that someone was framing her.**

** Quickly, Reid bounded up to the door of the round-table room, swinging it open with a bit more force than needed, stopping the conversation within in it's tracks. Every head turned to face Reid and for a second, he forgot what it was he was going to say under the scrutiny. Shoving his hands into his pockets and once more refusing to meet their eyes, he heard rather than saw Hotch stand up and lay his hands gently on the table, saying quietly,**

** "Reid, do you think you could take Amy outside into the bullpen for just a little while longer? We're almost done here."**

** And then Reid remembered.**

**"A-actually, I-I remembered something that c-clears Amy's name from the m-murder, Hotch."**

** Morgan stood up.**

** "Reid, she was here, all alone, there were no witnesses and there was ample time for her to run off and kill, then come back with none of us more the wiser."**

** "Yeah, but Intermittent Explosive Disorder is the occurrence of discrete episodes of failure to resist aggressive impulses that result in serious assaultive acts or destruction of property. The aggressive episodes are not due to the direct physiological effects of substance, such as abuse of a drug or medication, or a general medical condition or mental disorder!" Reid said, his words sounding like they were being read out of a book, which in fact, they were in his head.**

** "That means she couldn't have switched into another personality, she would have had memory of the kill, and she doesn't!"**

** This seemed to strike Morgan as speechless before he shook his head.**

** "Okay, so this bitch is good and cold and able to manipulate emotions. She can cry at the drop of a hat and make everyone feel sorry for her."**

** "What is your problem?!" Reid finally yelled, watching Morgan with wide eyes as he shoved his hands in his pockets, trying to keep them from moving all over the place to emphasize his words. "You act like she's the most hardened serial killer on Earth!"**

** "She pulled your own gun on your head and was about ready to pull the trigger, man!" Morgan yelled back.**

** Gideon looked about ready to say something, but instead he simply moved his head back and forth between Reid and Morgan as they yelled back and forth, feeling like the rest of the team were caught in some kind of twisted tennis match.**

** "She couldn't help herself! The preimptive need to strike back, to lash out when one feels threatened is amplified by the disorder that Amy carries!"**

** "But you hadn't done anything to her!"**

** "I set her off Morgan, didn't you understand what I said before? The degree of aggressiveness expressed during an episode is grossly out of proportion to any provocation or precipitating psychosocial stressor!"**

** "In english!"**

** Reid's face scrunched up like he was getting ready to yell even louder, but he shook his head and tried to take a deep breath, saying in a much softer tone,**

** "She gets mad at things that shouldn't always make her mad. Someone runs over her toe, instead of saying ow and glaring, she'd resort to fists or something worse. Things like that. But she has memory of those instances, which is why the feeling of remorse comes over victims of this disorder as soon as the anger episodes are over. But the memory _is_ there, Morgan. She didn't do it..."**

** And then the room was silent. Hotch, still standing, looked over Morgan and Reid before finally saying softly,**

** "Now that that's out of the way... I had my doubts that this was Amy's work to begin with." he reached back behind him to the small bookcase and took off a thin, brown folder and laid it on the table in front of them all. "The body shows no signs of a blitz attack, which would be all we would see, if Amy had indeed killed him. There's no defensive wounds, ligature marks on the neck and wrists, and the knife wounds on the chest and neck show no signs of hesitation. That and there's a bullet hole right in the middle of this guy's forehead."**

** "Talk about overkill..." Prentiss said softly, looking at one of the photos of the body.**

** "So... what does that mean then?" Reid said, his brows furrowing. "Who's doing this?"**

** Hotch paused for a second before turning to face Amy, who was still standing a little behind Reid, her arms still wrapped around her torso. He waited to speak until her eyes met his, then said softly,**

** "Someone who holds a grudge against her, and who wants her dead as much as anything in the world."**

** "I think it's time we paid a visit to Phillip Johnson." Gideon said, standing.**

A/N : Don't forget to review and tell me how I'm doing, alright? Thanks to all you for reading another chapter, and sorry it was a bit short.


	9. Chapter 9

Hotch turned off the SUV, but instead of getting right out, he took a deep breath and looked over at Gideon in the passenger seat, who was staring ahead at the house before them. They'd drove to Phillip's home without knowing if he'd even be there or not, but with the optimism that if he wasn't, then they'd be able to find something that would be of use to them and Amy. Turning his gaze away from Gideon, Hotch looked to the old house that lay before them. It was a one story home, with a porch that was caving in in both the roof and the floor. Both of the windows that they could see from the front of the house were broken and seemed to have aluminum foil over those areas.

The walkway was uneven, and over grown with weeds; the yard itself was overgrown. The mailbox was open and filled with mail, and Hotch had to assume they were bills. The driveway had two distinct paths that indicated tires had been there for a while, though there was no vehicle there at the moment.

The house, overall, looked abandoned.

"Let's go in." Gideon said softly, then opening the door of the SUV.

Hotch took another deep breath, then followed suit.

* * *

"It's… colorful in here…" Amy said in a wondering tone as she moved beside Reid into the tech room.

"Oh, you noticed that, did you sweet cheeks?" Garcia said with a smile, her quips past habitual and more along the lines of pure nature.

"Garcia, focus…" Reid said slowly, his brows furrowed in concentration.

He'd found Garcia in the hall talking to Morgan, and asked her if she could pull up everything on her computers that had been found at the crime scene again, and also a background on James Stanton, the guy that had been killed. Hotch and Gideon had been the only ones to go to Phillip's place, but Reid still felt like they should be doing something as well. He watched as Garcia sat down in her chair and started typing, windows popping up on the screens around them quickly.

Glancing once at Amy while Garcia was working her magic, he found that even though her arms were still wrapped tightly around her torso, as they had been all day, she was staring with wide eyes at the screens and Garcia's hands, which were flying over the keyboard. Her mouth was hanging open slightly and suddenly Reid couldn't take his gaze away from her lips, wondering what it would feel like to have those full, red lips on his…

"There you go!" Garcia said cheerfully, but Reid jumped, startled out of his thoughts. "What's the matter Reid, see a bug or something?"

"Th-that, I-I mean I d-didn't… b-but I… Just… just tell me what you f-found, Garcia."

"Alright hot stuff, since you asked so nicely." Garcia chuckled, seemingly un-phased by Reid's sudden stuttering. "James Stanton was just a regular Joe, excuse the pun. He worked nine to five at a café as a bus-boy, went home to an empty bed and took care of his two daughters on the weekends when his ex-wife dropped them off. And before you ask what he was doing out in the late hours of the night, he frequented the Sanderson Bar, about three miles off from where we stand right now. Evidently he had just been stumbling home, -literally- when he was taken aside and killed.

"The body showed no hesitation marks at all, with knife wounds on the throat and the chest. His shirt was ripped, not slashed, down the middle and shoved aside, though his arms were still in them when the body was found. No defensive wounds, which probably meant that our boy was too intoxicated to even know what was happening to him, and the amount of blood at the scene only works to confirm that. He was laying in the proverbial pool of his own blood when they found him, you know. And then of course…"

Garcia trailed off, boxes of data being pulled up in rapid succession on the screen she'd been reading from, and the picture within showed hair with the name Amy Vaughn below them, and Amy's large, straw hat.

"These." Garcia continued. "The hairs were found on James' crumpled shirt, and the hat… was found a few feet away by a dumpster, as if it was trying to be concealed. Like someone tried to throw it away but missed. Also, the hat had blood on it."

Garcia then turned around to face Reid, but his face was scrunched up in concentration and frustration.

"But this gets us nowhere! There's nothing here, nothing in the victimology, I don't get it…"

Reid bit his lower lip and turned to look at Amy, wondering why anyone would want to hurt her, but he noticed right away how pale she looked; she was also shaking.

"Amy, what's wrong?" Reid said instantly, and Garcia turned to look at her as well, but Amy shook her head, backing away a step.

"It's indiscriminate… he doesn't care, it's random, and it's going to be random until he gets me… he won't stop. He won't stop unless I stop him…"

"Amy, no. No, I won't let you. You aren't going out there to stop him alone, you came to us and we're going to help you, alright? We're going to help catch this guy and then everything'll be fine, okay?"

Amy paused, watching Reid with wide, blue eyes, and finally she nodded, her eyes then dropping to the ground. Garcia turned back to her computers, satisfied that they'd gotten their answer, but Reid could feel his heart sinking. Even though she'd nodded her head, somewhere in both his heart, and his mind, Reid know she was lying.

She'd go after him, and she'd do it alone.

He couldn't let her; he wouldn't let her.

* * *

"Well, it definitely looks like he hasn't been here for a few days." Hotch said slowly, carefully picking up a white, foam container holding spoiling food.

"So we're probably not looking for what's here…"

"But what's missing, instead." Hotch finished for Gideon, setting down the container and readjusting the rubber gloves he'd pulled on before opening the already unlocked front door.

"Exactly… So what do you see missing here?" Gideon then asked, turning around in circles, his eyes moving expertly over the kitchen, which started where the living room ended, separated by nothing more than a change in flooring from carpet to tile.

Hotch let his eyes roam over the living room as well; searching for anything out of place, anything that looks like it had been disturbed recently, something like… there. Hotch moved over to a small drawer that looked like it was sticking open a bit further than the other drawers on a table with several self-help and alcohol addiction books. And inside the drawer was a discolored portion of the bottom wood; in the shape of a gun.

"We've got a missing gun, Gideon." Hotch reported, looking up at Gideon, who instantly closed his eyes, shaking his head.

"Alright, I'm Phillip. I know I'm going to kill; make it look like Amy did it. I used a knife, a rope, and a gun. Why the rope?"

"So the victim couldn't run away." Hotch readily answered, but Gideon shook his head again.

"He was already intoxicated. He couldn't have fought his way out of a wet paper bag at the time."

"Then the rope was for later. There's something else you're planning to do."

"For me to get so upset, to go to such drastic measures to try and get the BAU to hate Amy, I must have been watching them. Watching her. I've seen their friendliness. I know how close they're becoming. I know there's a fifty-fifty chance they'll turn on her."

"And if she doesn't…" Hotch said, slowly realizing, but before he could say it, Gideon did.

"Then I'm going after her. Make her pay. The rope's for her."

"Probably the same for the gun as well."

Hotch started looking through the rest of the drawers, moving things around, searching for anything when he suddenly pulled out a prescription bottle. Staring at it for a few seconds, he suddenly called,

"Gideon. He's on meds; evidently Bipolar Manic."

"That would explain a bit of his personality…" Gideon said softly, moving over to the fridge and opening it carefully, looking at the contents.

It was fairly empty, sodas left open, a bowl of hamburger helper leftovers. Gideon was still puzzling over the lack of food in the fridge when his phone rang. Digging inside his pocket, he pulled out the cell and flipped it open, answering,

"Gideon."

Morgan's voice floated out of the phone, allowing Hotch to listen as well since Gideon had put it on speaker.

"Gideon, Vaughn just left the building. Reid followed after her, and I'm tailing them both. Thought you might want to know."

Gideon looked up at Hotch, worry suddenly etched on his face.

"Morgan, don't let them out of your sight, and if anything seems wrong, drag them kicking and screaming back to the office if you have to, but get them out of there, you understand? Hotch and I are on our way."

Then without waiting for a response from Morgan, Gideon flipped the phone shut and hurriedly started for the SUV. Taking his lead from Gideon, Hotch followed as quickly as he could, knowing that if they didn't get back to Quantico soon, not only could Amy be in danger, but so could Reid and even Morgan.


	10. Chapter 10

**Reid followed Amy to a drug store, just a few blocks away from the BAU office. Reid was stuck as to why she would want to go there. For supplies, for medication, for a knife…? Reid shuddered at that last thought and suppressed it, walking through the sliding doors a few minutes after Amy had. The place was filled; bustling with people. It was all Reid could do just to keep track of where Amy was in the crowd, let alone make his own way through the throng of people. Then, with confusion, Reid watched as the still fiery haired woman moved up to a checkout counter and leaned over, asking the clerk something. The young man nodded, looking slightly flustered, and moved away from the counter with Amy following.**

**Reid hesitated, but followed at a distance he thought Amy wouldn't notice, and watched as the pair came to the eyewear department. Reid's brows furrowed; what could she need there? Glasses? But Reid got his answer soon enough as the clerk moved away, obviously having given Amy the information she needed, and he got a good look at what it was she held in her hand. A very small box of green contact lenses.**

*** * ***

**Morgan sat in the drivers seat of the small, dark green town car, his sunglasses on and a ball cap adorning his head, the brim pulled down over his forehead and the top of his sunglasses. His hands were tight on the steering wheel as he waited for Amy and Reid to come out of the drug store. What was up with Reid, anyway, going after her? Then, thinking back to his phone conversation with Gideon, he wondered if there wasn't something going on from the outside. If Amy was in danger, then she was putting Reid in danger as well, because… well… the man couldn't keep away from her! He was like a danger magnet, and it just made it worse that Morgan believe that Reid was falling in love with the crazy bitch.**

**Could things get any worse?**

**But then Morgan noticed that Amy was coming out of the store. She stopped on the sidewalk, seemingly oblivious of Morgan and Reid around her, -Morgan could see Reid watching her out one of the windows from inside the store- she looked around before walking hesitantly across the street and turning south. Morgan continued to wait, however, and sure enough, Reid came quickly out of the drug store, hands in his pockets and head held low, his steps quick as he too, crossed the street and started following Amy again. Sighing once, Morgan put the car into drive out of park. The sun was starting to set and he had a feeling this was going to be a long night.**

*** * ***

**The drive back to Quantico was long and tense, and neither Hotch nor Gideon barely spoke a word then entire time. When they finally arrived at the BAU building, however, they weren't that surprised but they were a bit frustrated to find that neither Reid, Morgan, or Amy were back yet. Hotch felt a need to slam his fist into a wall, to hurt something; break something. But he knew if he did that, the outcome would be worse than what little bit of pressure would release itself. He had to keep his cool, for the sake of the team, and for the sake of Amy's life, and possibly even Reid's.**

**"Listen up," he said calmly, addressing the agents who had gathered around in the bull pen upon their arrival. "Morgan's already tailing them, but we have cause to believe that Phillip Johnson is going to go after Amy and try to kill her soon, and with her and Reid out there and vulnerable… well, I don't like it. So we're organizing a rescue team, just in case. J.J., call Morgan and get his exact whereabouts and tell him to lay low until we get there. Penelope, just incase they've gotten away from Morgan, see if you can triangulate Reid's cell. Prentiss, gather up whoever you can find who's willing to come with us, we're leaving as soon as possible."**

**"Yes sir, "'s echoed from those three in the room, and then they were scrambling around, following Hotch's orders.**

**Turning around, Hotch looked out the glass doors that they had just walked through, looking down the hallway but not really seeing it. Raking a hand through his hair, Hotch heaved a heavy sigh. He had a feeling this would be a very long night; for all of them.**

*** * ***

**It was nighttime now. Crickets were chirping, stars were shining, and there was a full moon above her head. But still, Amy walked on. She'd long since lost Morgan driving around in that old car, but Reid was still following her, she could tell as she stepped off the sidewalk and into a deserted park. Reid… he was okay. She didn't mind him following her as much as she had Morgan, but what could she really say to him if she were to turn around and face him? That I'm running off to meet a death I deserve? That you should just forget about me and move on, seeing as I'm going to die tonight? Or maybe better yet, get lost so he doesn't kill you too.**

**Oh, that was a good one.**

**Closing her now turquoise eyes, Amy sighed. She felt bad for lying to Reid back at the college about the reason why she wanted her eyes this color. But once again, what could she have told him? If she was lying to herself but being honest in a way, she would have said that she didn't really care for the color blue at all. But if she was being completely open and honest about it, she would have said that she couldn't get the image of dead, blue eyes staring up at her out of Danny's lifeless body. That every time she looked in the mirror, it wasn't her eyes she was seeing, but his instead. Those lifeless eyes, staring at her, watching her, accusing her silently of what she did.**

**It gave her shivers just thinking about it again, so she tried not to think about it. She thought instead about what it was going to be like to meet her death at the hands of Phillip. Would he be merciful? Probably not. He wanted revenge, he was set to get it. No one and nothing would stand in his way of getting that, and it would most likely be very… very… painful. Ugh. Still no help.**

**So finally Amy turned her attention to the stars, finally coming to a stand still right in front of a children's play area. They were bright as the moon shining down, illuminating her way across the uneven ground. Almost everything was silent around her; a fitting last night for a crazy bitch…**

**Shaking her head slightly, Amy finally let Morgan's words wash over her, being completely honest with herself. He was right. She was crazy, and she belonged in a hospital. But a hospital could do one no good when one was dead, could it? At least the world would be rid of her, she thought, bringing her hands up and looking at them, remembering the blood that had once soaked them, not that many days ago. And then, unbidden, Reid's first reaction to the blood on her hands flitted through her mind. He'd looked so scared then… and at that time, she'd expected him to. It had only made her hate him, because he didn't understand. That no one understood. But they did; HE did. Reid understood everything…**

**Amy could feel tears misting her eyes as she heard Reid getting closer to her again, as if she had conjured his presence out of wishful thinking and sheer will. She didn't want to do this alone… she really didn't. Amy just wanted someone to hold her for a few minutes… her last minutes. And then… then, she could die peacefully. Or, however peacefully a crazy woman could, at least.**

**Amy turned around, wanting to call Reid over, but what she saw shocked her into a stiff position. Phillip had indeed found her, but he had also found Reid. He was dragging Reid with his burly arm around Reid's small, pale neck, and had a gun pointed to his head. Swallowing, she heard Reid's whispered plea of,**

**"Amy…" and knew how scared he was; how scared SHE was.**

**It wasn't supposed to be like this, he was supposed to come after her, not -**

**"Turn around." Phillip ordered, and slowly, hesitantly, Amy complied, her thoughts for the moment completely obliterated in the sudden shock of the moment.**

**"Walk." Phillip ordered again, and Amy did as she was told, the three of them simply moving deeper into the woods surrounding the park.**

*** * ***

**J.J. hurried up to Hotch, catching up with him, Gideon and Prentiss as they were sliding into their seats in the black SUV. Panting slightly, she tried to catch her breath even as she said,**

**"Morgan lost them. Somewhere between East Main and South Boulevard was the last place he saw them. He hasn't been able to find them yet, but Garcia's got a trace on Reid's cell and she's pinpointing the location now. She'll call you when she gets the exact coordinates."**

**"Good work," Hotch said, before almost literally slamming the passenger side door in her face, but J.J. stepped back, knowing they were in a hurry and taking no offence.**

**In fact, in all her life, J.J. couldn't recall ever hearing those tires squeal.**

**They squealed now.**

*** * ***

**Hotch's phone rang just minutes after they pulled out of the BAU's parking lot and were headed to where Morgan was.**

**"Hotch," he said, having barely put the phone on speaker, and Garcia's voice filled the inside of the vehicle, giving them the needed information.**

**"They're right by the park on the east side, thirty two feet away from the park entrance. Well, Reid's phone is, anyway. The location's not moving, so I'm assuming Reid caught up to her and they stopped to chat."**

**"But if they're on the sidewalk, how come Morgan hasn't spotted them yet?" Prentiss asked, but almost as if on cue, Gideon's cell rang.**

**Quickly opening it and putting it on speaker as well, he waited and sure enough, Morgan's worried voice filled the vehicle as Garcia's had just moments before.**

**"The phone and gun are on the sidewalk, but there's no Reid, and there's no Amy. Reid either took his phone and gun off for some crazy reason, or something's happened to one or the both of them. How far are you?"**

**"Two minutes," Hotch replied tersely. "We'll be there in one."**

**Turning on the sirens for Gideon, he felt the increase of speed as Gideon punched the gas. Something was wrong; really wrong.**

*** * ***

**"Stop." Phillip ordered yet again, and Amy had no choice but to stop.**

**With her back still turned, she waited as she heard him coming up behind her, then throwing Reid her. Swallowing, Amy turned to peek just as Reid came hurtling toward her and they both went down to the ground. This action earned them only a loud,**

**"Get up." and a gun pointed at both of their heads.**

**Slowly, Amy got up, her turquoise eyes still warily glued to Phillip and his every movement as he suddenly reached behind him and pulled out a small length of rope and tossed it at Amy. Catching it, she glanced down at it for but a second before returning her gaze to Phillip. Swinging the gun at Reid then back to Amy, he demanded,**

**"Tie his hands behind his back, then tie him to a tree."**

**Taking a small breath, knowing there was a gun leveled to her head, she turned around slowly and moved to tie the rope around Reid's hands, which he had already placed behind his back for her. Swallowing, she whispered softly into his ear,**

**"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, it shouldn't have turned out this way… I wanted to get him alone, you weren't supposed to have-" but Reid cut her off.**

**"It's alright. I know you didn't mean for this to happen, and it's not your fault. I should have stopped you sooner…"**

**"Reid…"**

**"Now pull it tight." came Phillip's voice from behind her, cutting off their hushed conversation.**

**With another, barely audible, "I'm so sorry," she tightened the rope, knowing that Reid wouldn't be able to wiggle his way out of it, and that's probably what Phillip wanted. Leading Reid slowly over to the nearest tree, she then used the remaining rope to tie it around the tree, binding him to that place until further notice. Tying that knot tight as well, she slowly turned around to face Phillip, her hands raising into the air, which seemed like a habit for some reason.**

**Phillip motioned with the gun for her to move over to where he was standing. Still walking slowly, Amy swallowed again and glanced back at Reid, who's eyes were shining with tears even as she saw his hands working at the binds. And she felt her own eyes mist over with tears as well as she knew that he wouldn't be able to get out of it. Her only comfort was that if he didn't do anything to Phillip, maybe he'd just let Reid stay tied to the tree until the rest of the BAU found him. Not very likely, but it was only that hope that kept her walking calmly back to Phillip, her hands still raised.**

**Phillip's eyes moved over Amy's form once she was standing where he'd wanted her. His blue eyes, -like his brothers- were cold, but they were almost feverish. Longing and waiting for the kill; the one moment of perfection where everything was right again, and that would avenge his brother's death and right the world.**

**"You killed my brother." Phillip accused.**

**But instead of denying it, Amy simply said,**

**"Then kill me for it. Avenge him."**

**His eyes narrowed, and the safety being released made an eerie sound in the otherwise quiet wooded area. But then Reid was shouting at tugging at the rope binding his hands behind his back, dragging Phillip's attention away from Amy, and moving the gun off her head and onto Reid's.**

**"Amy, don't do this! Don't do it, Amy, don't goad him!" Reid cried helplessly, struggling as hard as he could, but Amy had tied the rope too tight.**

**At least he'd accomplished what he'd set out to do originally; he'd taken Phillip's focus off Amy. The only problem now was that it, and the gun, was trained on him. Swallowing and biting his lip, Reid felt like just sinking into the ground, but then he watched as Amy suddenly lunged for Phillip and his gun. Sending up a quick prayer she was quick enough, he watched with horror struck eyes and a suddenly dry mouth as Phillip turned at the last minute, the gun in his hand never wavering.**

**The report of the gun blasted through the woods like an explosion.**

**Reid's heart lurched; tears were now streaming unchecked down his face as he watched Amy hit her knees, her hand flying to her stomach only to be instantly covered in blood seconds later. A vicious sneer appeared on Phillips face before he turned the gun back on Reid.**

**"Can't leave any survivors, now can we…?"**

**But Reid didn't hear a word. Instead, he watched as the blood flowed from Amy's open wound on her stomach, watched her small body tremble, and waited with dread for the moment when she would collapse to the ground, lifeless. Oh god, he was going to be sick…**

A/N : REVIEW!! The next chapter will be completely your choice! Does Amy die, or does she live? I'll count of the reviews I get, (If I get any, thanks a lot.) and the chapter will be based on whatever you think! The death of Amy won't change the ending of the story that much, but I just thought it might get me a few more reviews. xP I'm sneaky like that. But anyway, REVIEW!!

Oh, and also my loyal fans, if I don't get that many reviews telling me whether she lives or dies, I'll choose, and the outcome may not be what you like. I'm shooting for at least five reviews, but more will be apriciated.


	11. Chapter 11

**"AMY!" the cry was torn from Reid's throat several times, causing his voice to become strained and his throat to hurt.**

**Tears were flowing unchecked down his face as his eyes flew from Amy's trembling body to the gun that was leveled at his head as Phillip slowly started his way. Swallowing past a sudden dry lump, Reid watched with fearful eyes as Phillip neared him, that strange grin on his face, cold blue eyes staring him down. His heart was pounding in his chest; so hard in fact, Reid was afraid it would burst out of his chest, killing him before Phillip could get to him first. He knew he should just stay silent; or better yet, plead for his life… beg for mercy.**

**But another quick glance at Amy drove all logical thought from Reid's mind, and he was tugging at his bonds, trying to get away, his feet causing dirt clouds to rise up between them. Unfortunately for Reid, Phillip still had a clear shot even through the dust.**

**Then Phillip stopped, watching Reid as the blood continued to drain from his face, as the sweat mingled with the tears still streaming down his face. Then his finger started to squeeze the trigger.**

**Reid saw it all in slow motion.**

**Amy lurched from behind Phillip, blood still flowing from her open wound on her stomach and staining her once pretty light blue shirt a dark, sick color. Evidently in his struggles, Reid had missed her getting up off her knees, and since Phillip had his back turned, he hadn't noticed either. Amy's hand flew out at the same time she landed on his back, knocking him forward and off balance, her hand gripping Phillip's wrist and moving his arm upward as the shot from the gun rang out, sounding once again, like an explosion. Reid winced horribly at the sound, expecting some kind of pain to shoot through his body, but nothing happened. And then both Amy and Phillip were struggling for the gun, Amy almost falling in her efforts.**

**Another cry ripped it's way past Reid's already sore throat as he continued to pull and struggle with his bonds, trying to get them loose, to get free; anything. They just weren't budging! His breath coming in short pants now, Reid had just a slight satisfaction in knowing his cry had startled Phillip, and in the moment he jerked away, Amy pulled the gun out of his hand and had it trained on his gut. But before Reid noticed the sudden gleam in her eyes, the spark that he remembered from somewhere, another gunshot rang out around him. Phillip backed up, his eyes wide, his hand flying to the now gaping hole in his own stomach as Reid yelled out her name again. But she didn't stop.**

**The gun went off again.**

**And again.**

**And again.**

**Reid was past sobbing at this point; the tears on his face were dried but he was still panting and heaving like he was ready to throw up, his voice squeaky as he continuously called out her name in vain. It was made all the worse by the fact that he didn't think he could reach her this time. And then the gun was clicking, Phillips form sinking into the grass beneath him. Swallowing as best as he could, Reid hopefully thought that it was over now; that she'd drop the gun and come untie him. The wound in her stomach was still bleeding profusely, and almost the entire front of her shirt was soaked in her own blood. Her face was extremely pale in the moonlight, and Reid could almost see the sweat glistening off her forehead.**

**She'd shot Phillip four times in the stomach; and had probably intended to keep shooting - she'd just run out of bullets. But instead of dropping the gun, she wavered slightly where she stood before taking a few steps forward to Phillip's unmoving form and straddling his chest, still holding the gun in her hand. Reid caught her intentions too late. With a scream of,**

**"AMY, DON'T DO IT!"**

**Reid watched in horror as she lifted the gun and brought it down to Phillip's face, evidently beyond hearing him. Reid didn't think he'd ever heard a crunch as sickening as this one had been. He could see the blood running over Phillip's face, spraying slightly onto Amy's face and her already bloody clothes. But she didn't stop… she just… didn't… stop…**

**Again and again, over and over she brought the gun up and slammed it down into Phillip's face, beating it so much that it wouldn't be recognizable come morning. Still screaming for her to stop, Reid watched as Amy's motions finally slowed, the gun coming down onto the dead man's face with less force, and Reid tried to talk to her the best he could through a throat that seemed like it was swollen now, and felt like it was on fire.**

**"Amy… Amy, he's dead now! Amy, please… come over here and untie me… please, Amy…? Amy? AMY!"**

**Tugging as hard as he possibly could and feeling something slick start to coat his wrists, Reid watched helplessly as Amy finally fell over, laying beside Phillip, the gun still in her hands.**

**He had to get out… he had to help her… they needed help; she needed help! He had to… he had to…**

**"Help…!" the cry was torn from his already sore throat, and Reid felt like crying again when he realized that his voice wouldn't carry anymore.**

**He'd used it too much already and it was fading from him. He could feel the blackness washing over his vision from exertion and excess adrenaline rush, but he knew he had to stay awake for both of their sakes… he had to…**

**"Help…"**

*** * ***

**Hotch, Gideon and Prentiss arrived where Morgan was supposed to be in about a minute and a half, but there was no sign of the agent. Cursing, Hotch drew his gun and looked around, wondering if the UnSub had gotten to Morgan, but Gideon's phone rang again. And again, he put it on speaker, letting Garcia's voice drift out of the phone.**

**"Guys, Morgan's off on the hunt! I was talking with him and I heard a gunshot in the background, and he cut me off! It was like, twenty seconds ago, if you hurry, I bet you can find him!"**

**Gideon flipped the phone closed and Hotch turned in circles, scanning the street, making sure that the rest of the search and rescue team had arrived before he motioned to Prentiss, saying quickly,**

**"Call a few ambulances, just in case."**

**She nodded and brought her phone out while Hotch motioned to Gideon, and he and Gideon then took off into the park, hoping to find their friend Morgan before Phillip did.**

**They had taken no more than three steps into the grass before another shot rang out, sending birds flying from their roosts in the trees. Breaking into a dead run, the males hurried into a line of trees, hoping that they'd find Morgan quickly, and they weren't disappointed; they found Morgan leaning against a tree, his gun in his hands and at the ready, and he was peaking behind the tree. Turning his head back around at the sound of the other agent's arrivals, Morgan motioned for them to find cover closer to him. Once they had their backs covered, Morgan said sharply,**

**"Someone shot at me!"**

**"It must be Phillip. He has Reid and Amy…" Gideon said slowly, his face contorting.**

**How could he have brought her into this mess…? But his thought was cut short by another gunshot.**

**And another.**

**And another.**

**The last report of the gun signaled not only the end of a shooting spree if Phillip was using a six-shooter, but also very deadly intent. Hotch picked up on this and motioned them to go in, seeing the search and rescue team coming up behind them.**

**This was their last chance. If they didn't get to their people now, they could very well die.**

**If they hadn't already.**

*** * ***

**Reid was drifting somewhere between consciousness and that utter blackness that threatened to swallow him whole. Still trying to cry out for help, his voice sounded like but a mere whimper, his struggles diminished to light twitches by the time that Morgan, Gideon and Hotch stumbled upon him.**

**"Oh god…" Morgan mumbled under his breath, taking in the scene before holstering his gun and running over to where Reid was tied, his hands working as quickly as they could to free the binding rope.**

**And felt something cold and sticky slide over his fingers as he worked it loose. He couldn't see it that well in the dark, and he knew he didn't want to. Giving himself a mental shake, Morgan continued to untie Reid until he flopped onto the ground in front of them, trying weakly to get to his knees. Morgan didn't have to look up to know that Gideon, Hotch, and the rest of the team were dealing with Phillip and Amy. So instead, he braced himself and wrapped his arms around Reid's shaking form, lifting him up and holding him there, giving the small frame a gentle shake.**

**"Hey, man, can you hear me?"**

**No response.**

**"Come on Reid, don't do this to me…"**

**Reid's eyelids flickered slightly and he mumbled something, then started to slump over again before suddenly catching himself, his eyes opening wide as they stared fearfully into Morgan's eyes. His voice was still slurred, but Morgan caught the urgency and panic in his voice as he said, his voice rasping a lot,**

**"A-Amy… wh-where's… A-Amy…?"**

**And Morgan was at a loss for words. He knew what he should say; what was there in front of his eyes. But instead, he wrapped Reid in a hug, saying softly,**

**"She's alright. Everything's gonna be fine now, I gotcha."**

**A few minutes and an incomprehensible mumble later, Reid slumped fully into Morgan's arms, unconsciousness taking over. Continuing to kneel there holding onto Reid, Morgan simply waited until an EMT came over, and asked if Reid too had been shot. With a shake of the head, Morgan tried to stand up and handed the guy Reid's body, insisting that he still get medical help for his wrists and to make sure there wasn't any other damage, just in case. With a nod, Morgan watched as Reid's body was placed onto the stretcher and wheeled away to an ambulance, waiting not too far away.**

**Raking a hand through his hair, Morgan finally turned to where the others were standing, the bodies already having been removed and placed, once onto a stretcher, the other into a body bag. Closing his eyes, Morgan silently sent up a prayer, then for good measure, muttered under his breath,**

**"You crazy bitch, if you make a liar out of me, I'll raise you from the dead myself just to kill you again for breaking Reid's heart…"**

*** * ***

**Reid was swimming in a pool of utter blackness… nothing there, just… a floating feeling. Being suspended above air; above time. Nothing existed; all was a mere shadow. Normally, Reid was afraid of the darkness; afraid of it crashing down around him, smothering him, reminding him how alone he really was in this world. But this darkness… it seemed to reach out in an extension of himself, keeping the hurt and the emotions in check and at bay.**

**He was floating, and he hadn't a care in the world.**

**But slowly, strange voices that weren't really that strange to his mind started penetrating the blackness. He could feel people touching his arms, his hands, his wrists…**

**His wrists!- Reid felt himself jerk as pain exploded through his arm, originating from his wrists, and the touch was quickly removed. This time, the voice was loud enough for him to hear it.**

**"Reid, I'm sorry! Are you okay? Reid? Reid, talk to me, come on…"**

**Trying to use the voice as an anchor, Reid pushed himself away from the blackened oblivion, and into the pain of the body he knew was waiting for him. Gasping, Reid opened his eyes just to close them tightly against the burning pain in his wrists and arms. Dimly he realized that his arms only hurt because of his vigorous struggles; that his wrists were the only real damaged part of his body, but pain most often seems to take control of all logical thinking. In fact…**

**"One out of five patients hospitalized for mild injuries end up having to be moved to the ER or dying because the mind played tricks on the body and caused said body to believe that the wounds were worse than they were…"**

**Reid said slowly, his voice slurring in a few places, but he was rewarded for his strange and completely uncalled and unasked for revelation with a pat on the arm and one of Morgan's wide grins.**

**"There you go. There's the Reid I know. How're you doing?"**

**"I'm…" Reid started to say, but then he cut himself off and blinked a few times, trying to clear his vision.**

**There was something he wasn't remembering… something important…**

**"Amy!" Reid suddenly shot up into a sitting position in the bed, yanking on the IV that was stuck in his arm and causing him to wince.**

**Morgan stood up and placed his hands on Reid's shoulders, trying to lay him back down, but instead of moving back, Reid started pushing at Morgan, trying to get up.**

**"Come on man, calm down!"**

**"I can't! Where's Amy, Morgan, what did you do with her?!"**

**And then Reid blinked, pitching forward slightly but catching himself before he toppled off the bed. Morgan had abruptly let him go, stepping back and staring at him as if he'd been wounded…**

**"I didn't do anything to her, Reid…" Morgan said softly, watching him warily, but with an almost guilty look in his eyes.**

**And Reid understood why he'd pulled back. In fact, he more than understood it. He realized that Morgan was indeed feeling very guilty about what happened toda- … tonight? Last night…?**

**"What day is it…?" Reid asked, his brows furrowed, and watched as Morgan's expression grew wary, then guilty again.**

**Oh damn, Reid thought. He was jumping from emotion to emotion, asking random questions and spouting out random fa- well, okay that last one wasn't so abnormal, but still. How… schizophrenic he must sound right about now…**

**"It's Saturday, Reid. It's Saturday…"**

**That means… he'd been asleep for two days… His brows furrowed, Reid tried again.**

**"What happened to Amy, Morgan…?"**

**"She's… lost a lot of blood, man. She's hanging on, though." Morgan attempted a smile, trying to calm Reid. "I have to admit, for a crazy bitch, she's got a will to survive."**

**But his joke seemed to have the opposite effect on Reid. His head lowered and he started playing with the covers on his bed, saying softly but hotly,**

**"She's not crazy."**

**And Morgan felt bad again.**

**"Yeah. You're right, kid. She's not." he said, trying to make Reid feel better.**

**When in fact, he was all the more convinced she was crazy. Beating a guy's face in with a gun that had been unloaded into his gut? I don't care what Phillip did to her out there, Morgan thought to himself. It doesn't warrant a beating like that. In fact, -and Morgan felt like the only one who realized this- Amy had all the makings of a serial killer. The rage, the insanity, the moments of sobriety of the mind, the moments of her breaks from reality…**

**But Hotch wouldn't listen; neither would Gideon. Instead, they'd shooed him out of Amy's room, instead sending him to check up on Reid and make sure he was okay, even though Prentiss had just gotten back from his room and said he was still sleeping.**

**But Morgan wasn't so self centered that he didn't give Amy thanks for saving Reid. If she hadn't killed Phillip, things could have gone differently for the both of them. So he did owe that to the woman.**

**"I…" Reid started, breaking off Morgan's chain of thoughts and snapping his attention to the younger man. "I… want to go see her… please…"**

**Morgan paused, not entirely sure of what to do, so instead he got up and saying with a small grin to Reid,**

**"I'll see what I can do." while in his mind, he readied himself for a confrontation with Hotch; he knew they wouldn't like it, but for his friend, he had to try.**

A/N : Thanks for the reviews, and here's your next chapter, Amy Lives. IT'S ALIVE!!!! *Lol* Sorry, I just had to say that once.


	12. Chapter 12

**Reid felt stupid and helpless sitting in a chair by Amy's side. He should have done more to help her… It literally broke his heart to see Amy staring blankly at the glass ceiling above them, her hands in the air and clenching and unclenching slowly. To anyone who came in the room, it might look as though she was having a hallucination. But she'd talked to Reid… she'd all but _told _him what she was doing. Reid could still remember her voice as it washed over him a few hours ago, though she hadn't said anything since.**

**"_They took my contacts out…"_**

_**It had been her first statement to him as the rest of the agents cleared out of the room and he'd sat down. Reid had tried to calmly explain why she couldn't wear contacts, and then asked her why she'd put them back in. She'd looked at him guiltily before looking back at the glass ceiling and clenching her hands slowly again.**_

**"_I lied to you…" she'd said, and Reid had patiently waited until she spoke again "I… I need different eyes. These… the blue eyes… they remind me too much of Danny. Dead, blue eyes… staring up at me… accusing me… Every time I look in a mirror, I see him… and now… I see Phillip, too."_**

_**Startled, Reid had looked up at the mirror above them, then back at Amy, laying a hand on her shoulder to hopefully comfort her, but she was talking again.**_

**"_I used to feel really, really bad about it. The guilt was almost unbearable. I mean… I killed a man, and I didn't mean to!" Amy shook her head, unclenching her hands, then clenching them again. "It… wasn't supposed to happen that way with Phillip. I wasn't supposed to shoot him… I wasn't supposed to keep shooting him but…"_**

**"_I know, you don't have to say it," Reid had told her, but she'd lowered her arms and looked at him, her blue eyes distant._**

_**That had scared Reid the most.**_

**"_Yes I do, Spencer… please, you have to understand…"_**

_**And even though his heart skipped a beat at the usage of his first name, Reid felt a cold chill run down his spine at her words.**_

**"_Morgan was right…" she finally said slowly, and before Reid could respond to that, she'd raised her arms again and was clenching and unclenching her hands slowly. "I'm crazy… because… only a crazy person would want to do that again…"_**

**"_Do… what again…?" Reid asked, his voice shaking, afraid of the answer._**

**"_Kill him…" Amy answered lightly, as if it were the most simple and logical explanation in the world. "I want to kill him again… I want to wrap my hands around his throat… and squeeze the life out of him… drop… by crimson drop…" at this, her brows furrowed, and she clenched her hands even slower, still watching the mirror above her._**

_**It was then that Reid realized what she was doing.**_

_**She was seeing her reflection, and she was pretending to choke herself. Or was she choking Phillip, or Danny…? Reid supposed who, didn't really matter, because all three of those choices scared him to death.**_

**Coming back out of his thoughts, Reid watched Amy sadly as she continued to clench and unclench her fists, her eyes riveted on the image of herself and her blue eyes as she did so. And it broke his heart to know there was nothing he could do, made worse by the simple fact that Reid knew one day she'd end up killing herself. Maybe therapy would help; maybe there was some kind of drug that could help, like an anti-depressant or something. At this point, Reid was game for anything to stop seeing her choke her reflection…**

**Reid heard someone enter the room, even though he was sure they had tried to be quiet. But instead of turning around to see who it was, Reid continued to sit with his legs drawn up to his chest, watching Amy silently. Watching her hands…**

**"Hey man…" Morgan's voice washed over him. "You doing alright…?"**

**Unable to help it, Reid finally glanced at Morgan, who had walked just a little ways into the room, and was watching Reid with worry etched around his eyes. Then Amy's hands unclenched and Reid watched as Morgan's eyes were drawn to her. Morgan's brows furrowed, but before he could say a word, Reid said softly,**

**"She's choking herself."**

**Reid watched as Morgan stiffened and looked up to the mirror, then glanced back at Reid, his eyes watching the younger man with sadness mixed with panic.**

**"Can you… get her contacts back…?" Reid said softly, looking at Amy instead of Morgan as he said that. "She… sees the eyes of Danny and Phillip when she looks at her own eyes… It's… not good."**

**Reid swallowed, knowing that wasn't the right thing to say, but if Morgan got the point and got her the contacts back, maybe she'd go back to normal. Maybe then she'd be regular Amy again… or maybe he'd just be disguising a monster with a mask…**

**Reid shook his head quickly, not even noticing that Morgan had already left the room, intent on doing something for the both of them. Reid sat in that chair for what seemed like an eternity, watching Amy's hands clench and unclench themselves before they suddenly dropped to her sides. Blinking the sudden sleepiness away, Reid looked at Amy just as she turned her head to stare at him. Then Reid heard her voice softly whisper,**

**"Reid…?"**

**Swallowing, he said in the same hushed tone as she had,**

**"Yeah…?"**

**"I never… got to… feel it." she said slowly, her brows furrowing and her tone becoming thoughtful as Reid replied,**

**"Feel what?"**

**"Your lips…" she said, then suddenly blinked and clarified. "On mine… um… like a kiss. I never got to kiss you…"**

**Then, suddenly self-conscious, her hands gripped at the sheets as she turned her head away from Reid, though she didn't look back up at the ceiling. Self-conscious as well but willing to do anything to make her feel better, Reid shifted in his seat before leaning forward, watching her closely as she turned her head to face him, her eyes wide at first before they slowly drifted shut and she waited. Closing his eyes, Reid leaned in just a little further, and a little further still, and then their lips touched.**

**It was just a soft kiss, only a mere touching of lips, but even then Reid felt a jolt of electricity flowing through his veins, causing his heart to speed up in his chest. Suddenly unsure of himself, Reid pulled back, blushing furiously and opened his eyes quickly, only to find Amy watching him with a wondering look. He inwardly cringed, knowing he must have done something wrong, and damned his social skills, especially with girls. Reid had just opened his mouth to apologize, however, when Amy spoke up quickly.**

**"That felt… really nice. Thank you… Spencer…"**

**For the longest time, both of them just looked at each other, as if studying something they'd missed for a long time, or committing something to memory. It was at that point that Morgan rapped at the door, and Reid turned around, looking at the large man who seemed so much like a brother to him before his eyes dropped to a small box in Morgan's hand; it was the contacts Amy had bought at the drug store before.**

*** * ***

**Reid remembered waking up slowly that night; things had been peaceful and nice after Morgan had brought the contacts in. As soon as Amy'd put them in, both of the men had seen a difference in her. She'd looked up at the mirror more, but instead of gaining a lost look and starting to strangle her reflection, she'd smile, even flip or adjust a bit of her hair and then she'd just… look away. She was… halfway normal again. She talked to the both of them, even gave a few half smiles to Morgan when he said something that was funny.**

**Reid himself smiled at the thought, moving slightly. The hospital chairs were never really that comfortable, but in his moving around, he felt something float off his chest; something like a piece of paper…? Glancing up to make sure he hadn't awoken Amy, Reid started out of the chair when he realized that Amy wasn't even in the hospital bed. Swiveling his head so quickly it hurt, Reid looked around, trying to figure out if she was just playing a trick on him, and he backed up slightly, his eyes trying to adjust to the darkness of the room when he stepped on the piece of paper.**

**Pausing, his eyes wide and his heart pounding in his chest, he slowly stooped to pick up the letter, his eyes scanning over the page quickly. And even with his eidetic memory, Reid found himself reading the short page over and over again, thinking he might have missed something, until his eyes were too clouded with tears to read any longer. Reid backed up until the back of his knees hit the bed Amy had vacated earlier, and he sat heavily on the stiff mattress. Lowering his head into the hand that wasn't clutching the small paper to his heart, he was unable to stop the flow of words through his head, as if he were still reading the letter over and over again…**

_**Dear Spencer,**_

_**If you're reading this, I'm gone by now. I'm sorry, but it was the only way. I know your friend, Morgan, was trying to make up for it, but in truth he was right. I need help, and I'm going to find some. I can't let Gideon help me, because you're too close to him, and I don't know what I'll do. I live in fear of my anger constantly. Please tell Gideon and Mr. Hotchner I am very sorry, and that I mean well. Now that Phillip is gone, I do not think that I have much to worry about from others, so please do not try to follow me, Spencer. I do this for your good as much as my own.**_

_**I never said it before because I was afraid of your reaction, Spencer, but I love you.**_

_**Maybe we'll meet again; I hope we will with all my heart.**_

_**Love,**_

_**- Amy Vaughn**_

*** * ***

**Hunched over, tears running quietly down his face, a piece of paper clutched in his hand to his chest; that was how Morgan found Reid later that morning. After a while of coaxing him, Morgan had gotten Reid to give up the paper so that Morgan could read it, and when he did he felt his own eyes misting with tears. Over all, he'd done this to Reid. He'd chased Amy away from him, but when he voiced his apology for that very reason, Reid's head snapped up and he shook his head vehemently. He'd told Morgan that it wasn't anyone's fault; that Amy felt she had to do this.**

**"In fact…" Reid had said, his voice cracking slightly, "I'd… had a feeling this would be coming. I just… didn't want to believe it. I know she'll probably be better off, and when and if we do meet again, maybe… maybe things will last longer; be better…"**

**Morgan understood how tough Reid was trying to be, so before Reid could object, Morgan's arms were around the young man's small frame and he hugged the kid tight.**

**Outside, the world itself was just waking up from it's slumber, completely oblivious to one man's turmoil and another's heartbreak. A new day was dawning, the sun was shining over small expanses of earth as it rose over the buildings and trees. And somewhere, in the streets of Quantico, a young man was dying of a stab wound to the chest.**

*** * ***

**"Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win." - Stephen King**

*** * ***

**END.**

A/N : Special thanks to a certain Rayne Wessel, if you've decided to go ahead and read this far. Thank you for your opinions despite my constant nagging and fangirlism. And thanks also to myers1978, tookyourbook, Wing Omega, ghostdolly, and tiger35, also including all those out there who's names I do not know. Thank you all so very much for sticking with the story, and now perhaps I'll be able to get back to my eariler series, The Price Of Living, and finish that one as well. Also, if you have any story or one-shot requests, don't be afraid to let me know. I'll gladly take on any challenges you might have for me. Thanks once again, and I hope this story was fun to read.

And also, yes. I AM planning on making a sequel to this. ^_^


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